The Sage of Fairy Tail
by Arch-Daishou
Summary: With his defeat of Pein and paying his last respects to his late Sensei and Godfather. Naruto Uzumaki finds himself in Earthland by a mysterious golden light. In this new world does the young sage find what he truly looking for while protecting those he has come to love from the darkness to come?
1. You had a rough day?

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

Naruto belongs to Masahi Kishimoto

Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Smart and Strong Naruto

(Re-edited by Etheral-23)

**Magic**

**_Jutsu_**

**Demonic Voice**

_Thoughts_

Chapter 1: You had a rough day?

As the wind touches his face, the young man of sixteen with spiky blond hair and whisker marks adorning his cheeks, kneels down in silent prayer. Kami he never felt so tired, but when facing a man that was the known leader of the Akatsuki, anyone would be seriously dead tired and near close to chakra exhaustion.

Even for the Kyuubi Jinchurriki, and newly minted Toad Sage, Naruto Uzumaki.

He smirks slightly, opening his cerulean eyes as he stood from his kneeling, dropping his arms to his sides. The blond sighs as he looked down. His fight with Pein/Nagato really did a number on his outfit. His jacket was completely destroyed, leaving only his mesh shirt he always wore underneath along with his red sage cloak over it now.

"Still look bad ass though dattebayo." Naruto commented.

Turning around, he swayed a little before catching himself. _Damn I've never been this tired. A good days rest and I should fine tomorrow. _

As he was about to take another step, when a strange feeling overcame him, he looked at his hands and then saw his body as it began to glow a faint golden light.

"Huh? What is …" He blacked out before him saying another word.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto stirs with a low groan as his body felt ten times sorer than fighting Nagato's six paths just an hour ago. Everything was blurry as he opened his eyes, slowly sitting up to rub them with his fingers. Soon, as everything comes into focus, his cerulean eyes widen slowly.

This was not the massive forest around Konoha! It looked like a mountain ridge dense with some trees here and there. Plus it was nighttime, and last he checked it was still daylight.

Hearing a gasp, he sharply looks to his right seeing a beautiful young creamy fair skinned woman about his age or a year older with long white hair with curls on the end looking at him with tears in her eyes. Her eyes are a deeper shade of blue to his own, almost looked like pure moonlight. She had a wavy ribbon on her hair while wearing a black halter top and jean shorts with black leggings and short heel boots.

A little further behind was a tall muscular white haired man in a tattered red shirt and pants. Now that he seen them clearer, he notices both looked badly beaten up. However, while the tall guy who was also crying, he looked confused, and there was suspicion in the girl's eyes.

"Who are you?" The girl asks in a melodic soft voice. But her tone was tense.

Lifting an eyebrow Naruto slowly stands, groaning all the way up. He notices the girl is a bit shorter than he thought. "That should be my question. Where am I?"

What was going on? Mirajane could not stop to think for a minute as she just watched her little sister Lisanna die and then suddenly vanish within a golden light. However, not a second later as Elfman regained himself to shift back into human form this, blond guy just appeared in the same light! Rubbing away her tears away with her forearm Mirajane glares sharply at the visibly confused blond.

"Where's Lisanna?!"

Naruto tilts his head, clearly as confused as the girl. "Who..?"

Not the answer she wanted, the blond Uzumaki guessed, as she tried to punch him. He dodged easily seeing as she had barely little to any energy. Poor thing looked like she was running on sheer will.

"Where is my little sister?!" Mirajane screamed out trying to attack Naruto again.

"I don't know! I don't even know where here is damn it!" The blond ducked each of Mirajane's wild punches. He caught her arms to stop her from attacking. "Will you calm down, Dattebayo..?"

Catching her fists, she tried ripping herself free from the blond seemingly iron grip. "Lisanna vanished in golden light and you just sudden appeared in it?! Where is she?"

"I don't know!"

Their faces were almost inches apart as they glared at each other, both nearly snarling. "Where the hell am I? It was noon before I blacked out covered in that weird light and then woke up here!" Naruto growls out.

Mirajane growls back equally pissed. "Like hell I will believe that."

Both looked ready to have it out, till a battered looking Elfman pulled both away before they could hurt each other. "ENOUGH! Neechan stop it!" he yells in a strong but tired voice.

Mirajane looks at him slightly hurt with wide eyes; "But he-!"

"Mira-Nee, will you take a look at his face? He looks like he is as in the dark as we are!"

Upon listening to her younger brother, her midnight blue eyes look swiftly back at him, seeing the slightly angry but also a very confused look from the tired blond's cerulean eyes. Both Mirajane and Elfman notice the blond was now breathing hard from obvious exhaustion, and realize how badly beaten up he looks. As if like he had come from a small scale war or something even worse.

But before anyone could say another word Naruto falls forward unconscious as exhaustion finally hit him from the day's events. He hits the ground.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Groaning, the blond Uzumaki rubs his eyes, still feeling quite sore, but far better than he was after fighting Pein.

"Glad to see you're awake." A deep aged smooth voice caught his attention.

Opening his eyes, Naruto finds himself lying on a bed in what looks like a make-shift medical room. His eyes soon lock on to the Mira girl who is leaning with her back to the wall. One of her arms in a sling and some of her body bandaged up. The anger in her eyes was gone but they were focused solely on him.

"That is Mirajane. I believe you two have met?"

Hearing the voice of the old man again, he shifts his head left seeing a small elderly man in a dark blue jacket and pants with a yellow shirt with green lining sitting on another bed. He was bald with white hair around the back of his head and a thick mustache.

"I am Makarov please to meet you boy."

Blinking, Naruto raised a hand from his side; "Yo, Jiji. Uzumaki Naruto."

The old wizard chuckled good-naturally, being called 'old man' while Mira just rolled her eyes. Both watched Naruto sit up, seeing his mesh shirt and sage coat gone, replaced with some bandages wrapped his chest and arms.

"We patched you up from whatever brawl you were into before whatever happened. Honestly, I never saw someone that beaten up in all my years. But more of a mystery would be why your body seemed to be healed up so fast after three days." Makarov explains while rubbing his chin.

The blond rubs the back of his head. "Always did heal quickly." Better not in mentioning the Kyuubi sealed inside him. He then blinks before realizing something the old man Makarov said. "I was out for three days?"

"Your body slowly healed up on the way back to the guild. But we figured to bandage up the worst areas just in case," Mirajane spoke up tensely.

The blond looks at her dryly. "Still think I took your sister?"

Lowering her head she shakes it lightly. "No."

"We are just trying to figure out what happened lad. What do you remember last?" Makarov asks politely.

Now lowering his head his mind goes distant with memories coming back vividly. "A man attacked and destroyed my village. He hurt my friends and the closest thing I have to a kaasan and neechan." He took a breath, "He died after I beat him. After that I was at my late sensei's grave when my body was covered in a golden light."

Mirajane looks over to Makarov. "Like I told you Master, he just appeared not a minute after Lisanna had vanished."

The old Guild master rubs his chin again in thought as he looks back to Naruto. "Where are you from lad?"

"Konohagakure no Sato." Naruto said plainly.

Both Makarov and Mirajane lifted an eyebrow at that weird name for a town. At the same time they were trying to wrack their brains if they ever heard of such a place. It could be from one of the foreign countries but to Makarov's vast experience he could not place it to anywhere.

"Is that anywhere on Fiore?"

Makarov's open question made Naruto give his most intelligent response, "Huh?"

XxX ~ Port Town: Hargeon ~ XxX

The train horn sounded as smoke plumed from its large exhaust with some people slowly leaving and others enter it for another destination. The Stewart came to an interesting sight near one of the open slide doors.

"Um, excuse me gentlemen?" _Oh dear…_

He sweatdrops seeing a young man with spiky rose colored hair lying on the train floor, clearly nauseated for some reason. He has a camper's backpack under a red coat with white lining and an odd white scarf around his neck.

"Damn it Naruto why did you turn it off? I hate trains, trains are evil! I am never riding these stupid things ever again!" The rosette haired man groans in a strain voice.

Shifting his gaze the steward sees a tall man also with spiky hair but sun kissed blond with a black head band wrapped on his forehead with metal bar with a strange leaf symbol at its center. Wearing a Gakuran style black uniform with strange sandals and an orange sash as a belt. Over his outfit was Naruto's trusty red sage coat. The Stewart blinks as he saw what looked like whisker marks on the man's cheeks.

The blond Uzumaki looks down dryly while a blue furred cat sits on his shoulder. "Oh maybe cause you were about to light the passenger car on fire, Natsu." Naruto crossed his arms.

All he got was a middle finger for a reply from Natsu who groaned. Still having jokes, Naruto grinned. "Not my type sorry buddy."

"I hate you…"

"Come on Natsu we made it to Hargeon." the blue cat spoke up in a chipper voice.

"Will he be alright?" The train's Stewart finally spoke up again.

The blue cat waved it off with a smile. "He will be fine. Natsu only ends up like this when Naruto is with him and misbehaves."

The said blond raises an eyebrow at the small cat on his shoulder. "I'm not his babysitter Happy. I just make sure he does not go overboard. I don't want Mira-Chan angry at me." Naruto shivered just thinking of giving a reason for getting that white haired beauty mad at him. Taking pity on his rosette haired friend Naruto rises up a rams hand seal. "Fūin!"

A faint glow came from the back of Natsu's neck.

The blue cat just shook his head as he jumped off the blond and landed on two feet on the floor looking out the open door. "If our information if right we should find that Salamander here."

Squinting his eyes Naruto lifted up his index finger. "Still like to know why he would be here of all places."

Natsu finally got back to his feet making the Stewart jump back with wide eyes. It was like he never had a problem to begin with. "Come on Naruto, never really hurts to look right?"

Seeing Natsu's goofy grin only made the blond snort as the trio left the train.

"If we find nothing I call bullshit." The blond remarked with a smirk. "Let's split up to cover more ground."

"Sounds cool" Natsu turned only to find the blond was already gone. He deadpans, clearly irritated by that. "Hate it when he does that."

"Well he is a ninja, as he keeps telling us." Happy said.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Standing on a rooftop letting the wind sway his hair and clothes the blond gives a small smile. How long has it been since being stuck here in Earthland? Amazing how two years feels more or less like a blurry whirlwind.

The Elemental Nations never even existed here; there was no Hi no Kuni or even a Konoha. He did miss his old friends and his home dearly but he could not let that get to him. Even if he was stuck in Fiore he found new friends and is a part of a Guild. He found a reason to keep moving forward.

Don't get him wrong, he wanted to return to the Elemental Nations, he had made many promises he intended to keep. After two years of constantly looking for a way to return, his hopes slowly dying as he had to face the fact that he may be stuck in this world forever. He just couldn't accept the fact that his promise to Ero-sennin about bringing peace would be broken.

He nearly lost it… but Fairy Tail had managed to find a way into his Heart. The crazy wild bunch of weirdos had given him the courage to go forward. He still looked for ways to return home, but he would go on with his head held high, knowing he knew so many wonderful people here he could call friends.

Granted, while his first best friend here did want to beat the crap out of him when they first met and, but she had just lost her sister. And he swears Makarov-Jiji had either blackmailed or went giant mode and threatened some poor idiot to get him into Fairy Tail without the Magic Council in Era hounding their asses.

Still, his annoying giant furball harbinger of death tenant had been less than informative on how they got here to Earthland. And sadly, he could not even summon the Toads in this place. So there was no help from them either.

Shaking away those thoughts, he scans the area but blinks seeing a blue roof of a magic shop. "Really, there is only one?"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"What! You mean to tell me there is only one magic shop in whole city?!"

This came from the soft yet loud voice of a beautiful curvy blond girl of seventeen years. Wearing a sleeveless, white zip-up vest with blue lining showing off her large bust. A small part of the left side of her hair was done in a pigtail. From the waist down she wore blue plated short skirt held by a leather belt which carried a set of gold and silver keys and whip.

Her brown eyes stare at the old odd looking shop keeper in disbelief as he spoke up. "Afraid so young lady. Hargeon has always been a fishing village more than magic one."

The blond girl sighed in exasperation as he went on. "I only opened this shop for Wizards who come by and need some supplies."

Putting her hands on her hips as she sighed heavily bowing her head. "Oh man I wasted a trip coming here for nothing."

"A trip is only wasted if you don't make a new friend."

The girl's brown eyes turn to the door as her cheeks turned a lit shade of red. Walking in is a tall well lean built man with spiky blond hair and cerulean eye. Naruto gave a friendly smirk as he walked over to the young woman and shopkeeper.

"Well said young man. How can I help you son?"

Naruto just waves his hand dismissively; "Just looking around Jiji." He looks at the young blond girl who looks like she is lightly spacing.

_Kami he is so handsome! And those whisker marks are adorable! _She came back to reality with a hand waving in front of her from her fellow blond with his eyebrow raised. "Yes sorry about that."

"I asked what your name is. Mine is Naruto." The blond put his hand out.

Returning the gesture the girl shakes his hand. "Call me Lucy."

"So what are you looking for Lu-Chan?" Naruto asks as they let go of their handshake.

Lucy lightly blushes at the 'Chan' in her name before sighing crossing her arms under her bust. "What I am looking for are powerful Gate keys."

_So she is a Celestial wizard eh? _Naruto thought absently watching Lucy let her eyes wonder around the shop.

"Gate keys you say. Those are rare to ask for my dear." The old shopkeeper spoke up.

Both men hear her squeal as she spots a silver Gate key resting in its open case. "Oh wow it's the little doggy!"

Naruto chuckles seeing the fellow blond almost jumping on the balls of her heels. "That is not a very strong one miss." The shop keeper eyes the young woman while sweat dropping.

Lucy was slightly blushing as she nearly could not stop thinking about having that new gate key. "I know, but I really want it!"

_She looks like a little kid just getting the best birthday present of all times. _Naruto thought as he watches Lucy pick up the case with the silver key.

"So how much for it?" Lucy asks smiling brightly.

"Twenty thousand jewels." The shop keeper said plainly.

The blond Uzumaki's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. _Twenty thousand for that!_

Lucy smile now slightly became strained, clearly wanting to clear her ears out. "I am sorry but how much?"

"I said twenty thousand jewels." The owner said again as if talking about the weather.

However, before the young busty blond could do or say anything twenty thousand jewels were laid on the table. Lucy gasped as she looks at Naruto in surprise.

"Well I have more than enough, here is for the key Jiji."

The shop keeper went about his business as Naruto grabbed the case and hands it to a visibly stunned Lucy who gently takes the case. "You did not have to do that, you know" Her voice small in almost a whisper.

"But it was the right thing to do. Plus you look good smiling," Naruto said warmly.

Lucy blushed almost wildly as she hugged the case like a teddy bear.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Walking through town Naruto and Lucy make their way as the female blond stills hugs her new key in its case with small smile while her male blond counterpart was lightly whistling a tune.

"You know that old man was overpricing this right?" Lucy said breaking the silence.

Naruto shrugged; "True but I don't care. I made a new friend and got her to smile, a plus in my books."

She gripped the case harder with warm small smile. _So he is handsome and such a gentleman. _Both blonds stop on a bridge hear a commotion below them.

"Are you serious, he is really here?!"

"It's him, Salamander!"

Two girls from behind them were squealing in excitement. Naruto lifted an eyebrow while Lucy looked slightly star-stuck. "The wizard who uses fire magic no one can buy from a store! Wow he is in this dead-end town?"

Before Naruto could say anything he was literally dragged off by the surprisingly strong buxom blond counterpart.

"Come on!"

The blond Uzumaki sweat drops; _I seriously doubt this is who I am thinking of…_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Slouching as he was dragged his feet with each step Natsu dryly looks ahead with Happy walking beside him. "This blows… No sightings of him plus Naruto vanished somewhere and I am so damn hungry I could eat my own hand."

"To bad Naruto has all the money." Happy gives his two cents.

Several tick-mark forms on Natsu head as he stops walking and takes a deep breath; "NARUTO! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!? I NEED FOOD DAMN IT!" Natsu let out a dramatic sigh. "Hey Happy? This Salamander we're looking for has to be Igneel right?"

"Aye, cause the only fire dragon I ever heard of is Igneel."

Natsu lightly nodded; "That's true."

Both man and cat stop when hearing a crowd of women swooning loudly. "Salamander, you're so dreamy!"

"Salamander?" Both Natsu and Happy yell out with a smile as they run towards the crowd.

"Well speak of the devil! We're in luck today Happy! I win the bet Naruto!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

_Something about this is wrong. _The moment he neared the group of ladies fawning over a man -Not a dragon mind you- with short blue hair with an 'x' tattoo above his right eye and wearing a purple cape.

Yeah this guy screamed asshole from a mile away.

Plus something was seriously bothering the blond Uzumaki. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucy also acting strange with a heavy blush on her cheeks; but weirdly at the same time she also looks like she was mentally fighting something off as her eyes looked visibly strained.

_Why is my heart beating so fast…? I… What's gotten into me all of a sudden?_ Lucy's mind racing as man called 'Salamander' walk over to some women near her and Naruto.

"You are all so sweet." 'Salamander' said in a smooth tone which made the blond sage narrow his eyes.

His cerulean eyes then saw something made him growl lightly. Putting his hand on Lucy's shoulder he lets some of his chakra go through her.

She lightly gasps as she blinks no longer blushing or looking strained. Her brown eyes look over and up to Naruto being he was taller than her. "What just happened?"

He quietly moves her and himself out of the crowd, not noticing the man looking directly at Lucy.

"What's wrong?" Lucy whispers.

Naruto keeps looking ahead with strong glare before clearing out of all those women. His eyes stay sharp as he looks at his female friend who stiffened under that powerful gaze. "Those rings he is wearing are enchanted with a charm spell."

She lightly gasps holding her mouth to her hand. "But those are…"

"Igneel it's me!"

Both blonds look back as Naruto face palms seeing Natsu and Happy push through the crowd. Yet as he made it through pass the last girl in the crowd and looks at the man before him his big smiled turned to a frown.

"Who the hell are you?"

The man gave a haughty arrogant smile; "My boy you are looking at the great Salamander." Then the said 'Salamander's' face soon dropped seeing the rosette haired man turn around leaving with his blue furred cat.

"That wasn't Igneel..." Natsu mumbled under his breath.

"Just some guy calling himself Salamander, figures." Happy finishes.

Before both knew it they were attacked by several women in the group while Naruto and Lucy both wince watching the one sided beat down and some actually biting from the insane spell enchanted girls.

"How dare you!"

"Salamander is a great wizard!"

The girls roar some more as the 'Salamander' took some pity on Natsu and calmed the girls down. "Now, now that is enough my dears. Some people just simply do not know greatness before them. I am sure he meant no harm."

At his voice the girls return to their swooning.

Naruto cleared his throat while uttering 'bullshit' under his breath which made Lucy giggle. The man went over to Natsu to help him up. As he stood the man pulled out a picture of himself which was signed by him.

"Here, for your troubles." 'Salamander' hands his autograph to a less than an enthused Natsu.

"No thanks." Natsu grumbles but is given the photo anyway. And before he knew it he was sent flying into some trash cans by several punches from the enchanted girls. Natsu just looks at his friend.

"Really not him..." Natsu strained while on his back.

"Nope." Happy said simply.

'Salamander' chuckled. "Well I must be going ladies there is business I must attend to." Snapping his fingers purple fire appears under him lifting him into the air. "I am having a party on my yacht and you are all invited!" Those were his last words before sailing off into the skies by his fire magic.

The girls soon vanish following him.

Slowly rising on his knees Natsu only looks up as the guy left. He grumbles to Happy. "Who was that guy?"

"A douche who thinks very highly on himself," Naruto speaks up.

"More like a creep." Lucy gave her two cents.

Looking over to his side Natsu sees Naruto smirking down at him with a blond girl having a polite smile and who softly waves at the rosette man.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The four sit inside a restaurant as both blonds watch Natsu and Happy eat like men who have starved for days upon days. Naruto only chuckles at the sight while Lucy only sweatdrops.

"So this is Natsu and Happy right?" Lucy asks looking at her fellow blond.

"Yep, thanks for the meal!" Natsu speaks up first talking while eating.

She waves it off while Naruto deadpans. "I paid for it dumb ass."

"Food is kinda flying everywhere so you can slow down." Lucy tries to reason before seeing Naruto shakes his head.

"Good luck trying to make him."

She sighed in defeat before speaking up again to Naruto "Well anyway thanks for freeing me from that charm spell Naruto. That Salamander guy was using charm magic to fool women into believing they were in love with him. But it was banned for years since it forces someone to do something against their own will. How did that creep get a hold of some?"

Naruto sips some of his tea he ordered. "You would be surprised what a person can find if they look hard enough Lu-Chan."

"But it's not right for him to misuse magic like that. He's an insult to every true wizard out there!" Lucy reasons.

Natsu drinks down some water stopping to eat for a second and looked at Lucy. "Sounds like you like magic a lot."

Instantly the female blond beamed as she pointed to herself. "I may not look it but I am wizard myself."

"It that so?" Natsu hummed as he starts eating again.

Lucy lightly scratches her cheek, nervously. "Sadly I have not joined a guild yet. Oh, do you guys know about guilds?"

The male blond smirked looking at her. "Why not tell us anyway Lu-Chan." Naruto saying this seeing how excited Lucy was just talking about magic.

"Well guilds are these organizations were wizards join with other wizards for information and finding work. And technically no one is considered an official wizard until they join a guild." Lucy then clasps her hand together with excited smile as she nearly squeals out. "But there are tons of guilds everywhere and the most popular ones are tough to join. But the most popular one is the one I want to join! You always see them on the cover of Sorcerer's Weekly; if I could get in with them I'd die happy!" _And I get to finally meet her!_

"You talk a lot." Happy speaks up.

Naruto could only chuckle seeing how Lucy was literally bouncing off the seat. But then saw her take a thinking pose before looking at him. "Say why you three are here?"

"Ask those two, I'm just along for the ride." The blond Uzumaki points to Natsu and Happy as they finish eating.

"We're looking for Igneel." The blue cat waved his paw while Natsu drank down some water.

"I heard a rumor that a Salamander was coming through this town so came to see him. And Naruto was not doing anything so asked him along."

"No I was finishing repairing that family's house with a new roof. Then you grabbed me when I put the last touches on it." Naruto's eyebrow twitches.

Natsu went on not hearing his friend grumble. "I bet that poser can't even breathe fire like a real dragon. He does not even have any claws or scales."

A sweat drop came from Lucy as her voice came out shaky, hoping she misheard. "Um, you make it sound like your friend Igneel is a dragon."

"You got it wrong he does not sound like a dragon. He is a dragon," Natsu replied plainly.

Lucy froze gawking at the two as Naruto silently groans rubbing the bridge of his nose. _Here it comes…_

Standing up in a blink with her hands on the table Lucy almost screams out; "Why the hell would a fire dragon show up in the middle of town!?"

Both Natsu and Happy froze before they tried to rebuke as they soon gave her question some serious thought. "It's totally ridiculous!"

Soon everyone only hears Naruto laughing loudly. "I told you it was bullshit!"

Sighing Lucy got up adjusting her purse on her shoulder; "Well I have to go." She smiles over to Naruto. "It was nice to meet you Naruto."

"No goodbye kisses?" Naruto said with a not so innocent smile.

Rolling her eyes with now a sly smirk, she played along. "Buy me a drink next time and I might think about it."

Giving a small wave she left the restaurant while Naruto smirked. _If I had tried that back home, the girls would have hit me. _"Well what now guys?"

"What do you think Happy?" Natsu asks looking at his friend.

The blue feline shrugs before looking to Naruto. "What do you think we should do?"

Scratching his chin his cerulean eyes look toward the window. "Want to go see what that fake Salamander is really doing?"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sitting on a park bench Lucy idly reads her new addition of Sorcerer's weekly. "Oh boy… Looks like Fairy Tail are at it again. Devon bandits wiped out but seven homes destroyed!"

She giggles as she leaned back. "Sweet Kami overkill much?"

A light gasp escapes her lips as she sits up straight again turning to a new page. A light blush dusts her cheeks with a small smile. "Mirajane…"

In the centerfold are two pictures of the now 19 year old Mirajane Strauss posing in a two photos in separate two piece bikinis. One of her in a green bikini with gold embroil while the other being pink with black lining, using her water magic. Her beauty only grew in two years with body fully filled out as she now also keeps her long white hair down with her bang up by a string.

You would be thick not to see the longing in Lucy's chestnut eyes. _She is so beautiful. What I would just too finally met her and be in Fairy Tail! _"I really wish I knew how to be a member of Fairy Tail."

Closing the magazine she smiles with a determined look; "But one way or another I am totally joining Fairy Tail!"

"What was that? You want to join Fairy Tail?"

Instantly Lucy quickly stood defensively. "Salamander!"

"I have actually been looking for you everywhere." The blue haired man says in suave tone. "I would like to personally invite you to my party on my yacht tonight."

Lucy only points an angry finger at the man. "Your charm spell won't work on me. That magic's weakness is awareness! It has no power over anyone when they know it's being used on them."

'Salamander' gave an impressed nod; "I knew you were a wizard the moment I laid my eyes on you. No matter the invitation still stands."

Crossing her arms under her impressive bust Lucy turns her back to him. "You can forget it. I don't go to parties held by creeps like you." That statement made the man deflate a little.

"Why do you call me that?" He says weakly.

She sharply turns a glare at him. "Because only creeps would use banned magic like charm spells to lure women."

"Would you blame me for wanting to be the center of attention of my own party?" 'Salamander' waving offs her words.

Lucy shrugs, clearly not taking the bait. "Just proves even celebrities can be idiots."

A smirk was his only response, one last trick up his sleeve. "You wish to join the Fairy Tail guild right?"

XxX ~ Nightfall ~ XxX

The full moon shines brightly as both Naruto and Natsu look out on one of the bridges in the town while Happy sits on Naruto's shoulder.

"So all we keep hearing is this _fabulous_ party with only women are invited to some yacht. I don't like that." Naruto said with an edge in his voice.

The rosette haired man crosses his arms while looking at his blond friend. "What are you thinking?"

"I think I should have sent a Kage Bunshin to follow Lucy to make sure she was safe." Naruto drums the parapet with his fingers as he watches the ships.

Natsu turns leans his back against the parapet with his arms crossed. "You do have some of those clones all over the place."

Turning his head the blond Uzumaki looks dryly to his friend. "And we neither of us are the most patient of people"

The rosette haired man grunts in agreement as both go silent.

Happy soon breaks the silence seeing a large ship in the distance. "Hey you think that boat is where that Salamander guy is having his party?"

Natsu turns around as both he and Naruto look where Happy is pointing. It is a large ugly looking ship floating a bit away from the coast and port. The blond Uzumaki's bad feeling only grew as he narrowed his eyes.

"Oh my gosh that's Salamander's yacht isn't it?"

"I wish I could have gone to his party!"

Looking to their left, they see three girls looking where they just were. They stay quiet as they listen in.

"Who's Salamander?"

"You never heard? He is a super famous wizard who is in town right now!"

"He is also a member of Fairy Tail!"

Natsu and Happy's eyes widen while Naruto narrows his. They all turn their heads looking at each other with strong gazes. "Fairy Tail..." Natsu whispers.

"This will be fun," Naruto smirks darkly cracking his knuckles much like a certain buxom blond Sannin. "It's always fun crashing a party."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the yacht moves out of the port the party is in full swing. On the open deck were several ladies either standing or dining at one of the tables. In a more private room Lucy wore an elegant red dress with a split on the left showing off well-toned her leg, and a red bow in her hair. She's sitting across from 'Salamander' talking privately.

However the young blond could not help but feel something was off with all this.

"I'd like to make a toast to your beauty." Snapping his fingers some of the wine from his cup floated up. "I hope you savor the taste of each drop."

_This guy is creepy! _Lucy yells in her head while keeping a straight face, trying to hide the shivers down her spine. Taking a deep breath she stands as she pushes the wine droplets away with her hand.

"I can see through that. You're trying to use sleep magic," Lucy says sternly. _Just what the hell was he planning putting me to sleep?_

'Salamander' only smirked. "Why yes my dear."

The blond shakes her head. "Look I really want to join Fairy Tail. But I won't date you to make it happen."

"You are quit a handful aren't you?"

Soon the curtains around the room open harshly; showing a dozen thugs with all the girls unconscious on their shoulders. Lucy gasps as her gut feeling was now screaming at her. "What is going on here?"

"Welcome to my ship." 'Salamander' gave sneering smirk. "And you would be wise to behave until we make to Bosco. Don't make me angry."

Before Lucy could react, two large men grab her arms from behind, holding her; "Get off me! Bosco; you said you would let me into Fairy tail!" Lucy sharply turns glaring at the blue haired man.

"Oh, I only said that to lure you here so you could be one of our slaves." 'Salamander' smirks. "You see much like the other ladies on board you became merchandise coming onto my yacht. So just be best for you to give up."

Lucy only looks in shock as the tall thug holding her right chuckles while the other from behind looks at the buxom blonde lewdly. "Boss is right. just give up. you belong to us now."

"Well since charm magic won't work on this one we might as well _train_ her," The large man holding her left smiles perversely.

Fear is visible on Lucy's pretty face as her body begins to tremble; _This can't be! Abusing magic, manipulating people with illegal charm spells, and slave trading! There is no way these jerks are from Fairy Tail! _

"So that upgrades you assholes from rotten douche bags to sick motherfuckers. I will enjoy kicking your sick asses with a big smile on my face."

Lucy's eyes widen while gasping as 'Salamander' and his thugs look for the male voice that just spoke.

However 'Salamander' stops looking when seeing his men and Lucy look at him with wide eyes and gawking. But before he could say something he feels someone behind him. Slowly turning his onyx eyes he soon stares into angry cerulean as he sees a blond man with spiky blond hair and whisker marks on his cheeks glaring at him.

But what made him turn gawking like everyone else is that the blond haired man was standing upside down on the ceiling!

"So not cool Dattebayo." Naruto frowned deeply.

_Naruto! _Lucy never felt so much relief flood through her body in her life. Before she could blink two kunai strike perfectly into the two men's chests holding her. They are sent flying into the wall from the speed and power of those weapons.

'Salamander' finally found his voice. "How… How are you doing that?" Was question among everyone's mind.

Soon on the other side the ceiling caves in as Natsu lands in the room also with a deep frown on his mug. Before one of the thugs could react Natsu lands a straight punch into the man's jaw. He spat out blood as he was sent flying while the rosette haired man catches one of the girl's into a bridal carry.

"So you say you're from Fairy tail huh?" Natsu asks in a dark tone.

Floating just above the hole where Natsu came through, Happy looks down. The blonde girl notices the white wings on his back. "What are doing here Lucy?"

The young busty blond looks to Happy; _when did he get wings? _"That creep tricked me! He said he was going to get me into Fairy Tail. And why the hell do you have wings?!"

Naruto looked at her, smiling nervously. "Uh, now is not the time Lucy."

'Salamander' and his group only gawk as Happy picks up an visibly shocked Lucy with his tail and flies off. Shaking out of his stupor the blue haired man looks back at his men.

"We have to stop them before they tell the Magic Council!" However his expression turns to one of shock seeing all the other sleeping girls gone and his men getting beaten up by an irate Natsu.

Flying in the skies Lucy looks back to the yacht. "What about Naruto and Natsu!"

"I can't carry two people. Besides Naruto can just walk on water, so he is fine."

Blinking and nodding in acceptance she looked back to the boat. "Oh okay… Wait, Naruto can do what!?"

'Salamander' was about to attack Lucy and Happy with a spell until a kick to his face sent him breaking through the door of his room onto the deck. Naruto lowers his leg as he was now right side up standing on the floor normally. He walks out where he kicked that smug bastard.

"How's that jaw?" The man glares up at Naruto as he staggers back to his feet. "Well you can take a hit at least."

**Prominence Wish****! **

'Salamander' extends his hand setting loose a barrage of fire magic aimed towards the blond Uzumaki. Lucy was about to yell for Naruto to move as the flames hit full force into... a log?

"Kawarimi, you never leave home without it."

Sharply turning behind him 'Salamander' is greeted with fist to the face sending him back to the floor. Naruto blew on his fist like he was blowing off smoke from a gun.

"Hey, blondie!"

Looking around the said blond saw he was surrounded by some stragglers Natsu missed. "Well who wants an ass kicking followed by a slow agonizing castration?" Naruto said darkly pulling out a kunai from within his sleeve like it was a playing card.

"Yo assholes!"

The remainder of the thugs turns their heads also seeing Natsu at the broken door with a pile of unconscious bodies behind him. He glares at the bunch while popping his knuckles.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Wait what about the other girls?" Lucy asks genuinely concerned.

"We got a problem Lucy," Happy speaks with a slight strain in his voice.

The blond was about to ask till her eyes nearly pop out of her eyes seeing the blue cat's wings sudden vanishing while they are still in the air! Both scream as they plummet down into the ocean. Instead of hearing a splash and being soaked in water Lucy felt her body being caught.

"Really Lu-chan, didn't know you were falling for me."

Opening her eyes she sees none other than Naruto holding her in a bridal carry smiling down at her. "Naruto-Kun? I thought you were on the boat with Natsu?" Blinking her brown eyes she then sees her fellow blond was literally standing on water! "HOW ARE YOU STANDING ON WATER!?"

The blond cringes from Lucy's yelling. Shaking off the ringing in his ears Naruto smirks. "Boss is still on that ass-clown's ship. I just came with the others in case Happy dropped you."

_Boss? _Tilting her head Lucy's jaw nearly drops seeing a dozen Narutos running on top of the water carrying all the girls that were on board 'Salamander's' yacht. Finally clawing up Naruto's shoulder Happy sits down sighing.

"You see Naruto can make clones of himself. It's some magic called Kaege –Bumshini." The Naruto Clone felt his eye twitch in irritation from the cat's words about of his legendary Clone Kinjutsu. He got the damn name wrong again!

"It's 'Kage-Bunshin' you little blue furball! And for the love of Kami it's not magic it's Chakra! I have never once used Magic in my life you dumb-ass!" The clone yells with a vein popping on his forehead.

Lucy just blinks as she smiles weakly. "Can I please get an explanation after the insanity stops?"

Shaking out of his anger the clone smirks back to his female blond counterpart. "Boss will give you the lowdown later, let's just get to shore."

Giving small nod she blinks before smiling. "Good, I can help once there!"

XxX ~ _real_ Naruto and Natsu ~ XxX

Kicking one of the thugs in the face Natsu glares over to 'Salamander'. "The Fairy Tail guild. You say you're a member?!"

The blue haired man looks back to Natsu while Naruto idly flips his kunai in his hand. "Well are you all going to try something or stand there like idiots?"

That made them charge as a feral smile forms on the blond's lips.

XxX ~ Lucy ~ XxX

As the other Naruto clones take the unconscious girls to safety, the one with Happy on his shoulders watch Lucy with interest at the shoreline.

**Open: Gate of the water barer, Aquarius****! **

Pulling out of her celestial golden keys Lucy kneels down, putting it in the water. A spell circle appears, soon a small tornado of water shots up as a beautiful blue haired mermaid jumps through holding a strange blue pitcher.

Happy was drooling. "A FISH!"

Both Naruto clone and Lucy sweat drops, Naruto explaining. "It's a mermaid." And Lucy slaps Happy in the back of the head. "Not for you!"

"A celestial wizard eh? Not bad Lu-Chan." Naruto smirks.

Lucy blushes slightly at the praise as she stands again, not noticing her summon spirit looking at Naruto with a wary gaze. "Listen Aquarius, I want you to push that boat there back into the port."

Aquarius only scoffs as she floats above the water. Which bring a tick mark on Lucy's face. "You're supposed to help when I summon you from the spirit world not give me that attitude!"

Happy looks slightly afraid by dark look from the spirit while Naruto looks at her dryly. _Not a lot of respect for her master it seems._

"You almost dropped my key back there. Let's get this straight, ever drop my key and your dead." Aquarius says in deadly serious tone.

Lucy flinched as she paled; "S-Sorry…"

Naruto sweatdrops. _I wonder who's really in charge here._

Water fills up in her pitcher as she charges her magic and swings forward toward the boat. Soon a massive tidal wave takes hold of the ship barreling it back to the shoreline. Everyone on board screams in terror save Naruto who remains in place with chakra on his feet while holding unto Natsu who is laughing at everyone else screaming like girls.

Both the wave and yacht crashes into the harbor as the Naruto clone picked up Lucy and Happy and jumped to a safe high perch. The clone whistles as he admires the destruction. Aquarius floats near Lucy

"Don't summon me for a while. I'm going on a vacation with my boyfriend" She disappears, leaving an angry Lucy stomping her foot.

"Grr! She's so selfish! An don't rub it in!"

Happy quips. "You don't really get along huh?"

"That's an understatement" Mutters the clone.

Lucy is about to retort, but gasp as the clone puffs out of existence. They see the real Naruto sitting on top of the beached ship.

"Hope he was good company, I'd like to think I am" Naruto says with a cheeky smile as Lucy looks up at him.

"That's a cool trick"

"It's even better at parties"

On the other side 'Salamander' and what was left of his thugs crawling out of their wreck. People from town look on stunned seeing a ship washed by a sudden massive tidal wave. "Damn that hurt." Looking up he sees Natsu glaring down at him.

"So you say you're from the Fairy Tail Guild huh," Natsu taking off his red coat showing his open black sleeveless vest with gold lining. "Let me get a look at your face."

'Salamander' just scoffs, wanting to destroy the pinkette. "Get him and that blond guy!"

**_Fūton: Daitoppa_****!**

A sudden and powerful burst of wind hits 'Salamander's' thugs and sends them crashing through the remains of the yacht. Naruto stands in front of Lucy with Happy on her shoulder eating a fish. The blond Uzumaki gives them a dark smirk. "That's right he did say he came from Fairy Tail. Kinda funny though him saying that."

Natsu punches away a stray thug, both Lucy and 'Salamander' eyes widen at seeing the guild insignia of none other than Fairy Tail. Lifting up the right sleeve of his jacket Naruto also shows his own on his forearm.

"Did I forget to mention Natsu and Naruto are also wizards? Well Natsu is anyway," Happy says sheepishly when being glared by Naruto at being called a wizard.

"My name is Natsu Dragneel a 'Fairy Tail Wizard' and I never seen you once in Fairy Tail!" The rosette haired man snarls.

Dropping his sleeve Naruto points to himself; "The name is Naruto Uzumaki, the Shinobi–Sennin of Fairy Tail Dattebayo!"

Lucy points a shaky finger at Naruto and Natsu; "Those two are both from Fairy Tail!"

A bald thug pales as he stands by his boss. "Oh crap boss! Those marks on their arms; those guys are really from Fairy Tail Bora."

'Salamander' now known as Bora nearly snaps at his lackey; "I told you never to call me that!"

Happy narrows his eyes; "I heard of him. He is that sleaze ball 'Bora the Prominence'. Rumor has it he was kicked out of Titan's Nose guild years ago for bad behavior."

Clinching his fists Natsu growls; "I don't give a damn who you think you are. I won't have some asshole disrespect the Fairy Tail name!"

Bora gave a vicious smirk; "You think you can stop me?!"

**Prominence Typhoon****!**

Lifting his hand he shot out a powerful twister of purple flames straight towards Natsu. Lucy was about to go him as the fire hits, setting the area ablaze but Naruto and Happy stops her.

Bora snorted. "All big talk from such a little man."

"Kami this stuff is nasty!"

Turning around Bora almost drops his jaw at the sight of Natsu actually eating the flames! Lucy's eyes nearly bulge from their sockets as the fire was beginning to vanish, Natsu ate every last flame leaving only smoke and burnt wood.

"Thanks for the meal jackass." Natsu smirks.

Bora screams in disbelief; "Who the hell is this kid?!"

"I'd give up asshole. No fire magic will ever harm Natsu." Naruto chuckles darkly.

Lucy looks on trying to find her voice; "What the heck is going on. I never have seen anything like this!"

Natsu grinned almost evilly. "Now let me show you real fire!"

**Fire Dragon Roar****!**

Taking a long deep breath Natsu exhales a wild stream of flames at Bora and his men. They did not know what hit them as the area explodes. Standing on his purple flames Bora looks down at Natsu as realization hits him hard.

"You're him…" The fire wizard grew paler with each word. "You're really Salamander! You're the Fire Dragon-slayer!"

Lucy almost faints as her jaw drops; "NATSU IS THE REAL SALAMANDER!" For a second she composes herself seeing someone missing. "Where is Naruto?"

Bora charges for another of his own fire spells seeing Natsu doing the same.

"Always mind your surroundings."

Sharply turning around, Bora is slammed in the chest by a baseball size ball of blue energy in Naruto's hand while he had somehow jumped fifteen feet in the air! It grinds into his chest ripping his shirt and cape like it was paper.

**_Rasengan_****!**

Bora screams in pain as he's sent flying like a rag-doll with extra momentum by a burning punch from Natsu, they watch as the fake Salamander sent flying back into the city.

"Natsu is an actual Dragon Slayer?! I thought they were just legends." But then Lucy looks over to Naruto. "What kind of magic does Naruto use?"

Hearing his fellow blond's question Naruto turns and looks dryly at her. "I have never used magic in my life. What you seen from me are called 'Jutsu' and I use 'chakra'. Why I call myself the Sage-Ninja of Fairy Tail."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Slowly with a painful groan Bora raises out of the rubble holding his bloody chest. Landing on a roof Natsu glares down at him. Snarling the blue haired fire wizard lifts himself by his flames he lets loose more of his fire magic which Natsu is happy to chow down on with a smile on his face.

"Thanks for the meal. But your flames still taste like shit!"

Charging up his flames in his right fist Natsu leaps forward. Bora was too frightened to even move or dodge.

**Fire Dragon Fist****!**

Landing a hard right hook Natsu sends Bora down to the ground ripping through the cement and bouncing off roofs till he finally slams into the church bell which rings loudly.

Lucy only gazes at the scene in amazement while something finally dawn's on her as Naruto pales at the destruction. "I think you guys overdid it, Naruto."

The blond Uzumaki chuckles weakly, scratching the back of his head; "I think we overdid it too. Mira-Chan is going to kill me."

Happy nods sagely while sitting on Naruto's shoulder. "She will be really mad."

"Don't rub it in furball." The blond ninja growls out.

Soon upon hearing loud marching metal footsteps both Naruto and Lucy pale turn their heads seeing the local army coming their way. In a blink Natsu was with them as both males grab Lucy's wrists and run off with her nearly flying in the wind and Happy flying beside them.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Natsu and Naruto yell in fear.

"Why the heck you guys taking me with you?!" Lucy asks while flying in the wind due to Natsu and Naruto grabbing both her hands tightly as they run.

Naruto grinned back at her. "Come on! Didn't want to join Fairy Tail?"

Lucy widens her eyes as both men smirk back at her. It did not take long for her to have a brilliant smile as she soon matches the two in running out of town. "Then let's go!"

.


	2. Home sweet guild,welcome to the madhouse

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

How does one define a home?

(Re-edited by etheral-23)

Chapter 2: Home sweet guild, welcome to the madhouse!

Water drips from a dozen pipes attached to walls around him. His shadowed cerulean eyes gaze ahead at the being that is imprisoned within his soul since he was an infant.

**"Why do you limit yourself, Naruto, around such weaklings…? With my power you could claim this world as your own."**

For two years he had heard this talk with some many different words. Naruto honestly wondered if the damn fox was ever going to give up trying, tempting him into releasing him. Some days he wondered why he kept coming back here, but he knew better.

Thus, here the blond was in his mindscape again, standing near the prison which holds the Bijuu king himself. The ancient fox demon gazing down at him as the blond's cerulean eyes narrow; "I never cared for that and you know it."

The Kyuubi snorts; **"All humans crave power. You sought the power from those wretched amphibians to avenge that perverted fool Jiraiya, thus becoming a Sage, did you not? What makes you different than the rest of those hairless monkeys?"**

Almost snorting himself, the blond replies. "I won't lie, saying I wasn't pissed off at Nagato for what he did to Ero-Sennin, or to Konoha for his twisted sense of peace. But I would be no better than Sasuke by holding onto vengeance." Naruto gave small absent thought. "I never did ask, but how am I still able to use nature chakra?"

A dry look comes from the ancient fox; **"Two years in Earthland and you finally get around to asking that? Chakra is an energy that exists in all things, under different names, no matter what the dimension within space and time. Such was Lady Kami's decree. It is no different here. And though while these mages store it within their bodies as well, it appears to be more linked to their mind and spirit rather than biologically like shinobi's. So it allows them to use it differently than ninjas. Thought that old fool of a toad explained the nature of chakra to you?" **

Naruto did not rise at the mocking tone of the fox. The blond knew the Kyuubi was not the easiest person to get along with. He had come to terms with that a year after being stuck in Earthland. He stopped hating the fox and blaming him for things like a spoiled child would do.

The honest truth is; Kyuubi did not want to be sealed away any more than Naruto wanting to be a Jinchurriki. But neither one had any real say in the matter.

Meeting the ghost of your father can help change a person's thoughts. Although he would be lying, saying it did not still feel satisfyingly good in punching his Tou-san in the stomach.

Instead he has been trying to speak kindly and be friendly with the Kyuubi which has been an uphill battle from the beginning. Trust was the first issue and still is. But he would not stop trying.

Even if he did want to pull his hair out. One little strand at a time.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sitting in a passenger car of a train, Lucy watches Naruto quietly. The trio, plus cat, was able to get onto the last train departing to Magnolia before the local guard could ever hope in catching them, and in time for Lucy to change back into her previous clothes.

How could someone be so perfectly still while in a moving train?

_Is he sleeping or is he meditating_? She wasn't really sure. Looking to her right she sweatdrops seeing Natsu and Happy devour some food like a dying man that came from the passing trolley a few minutes ago.

Still she could not stop smiling. _I can't believe I am actually going to join Fairy Tail!_ However a thought hit her, a memory of what Naruto had said while fighting Bora. "Why did Naruto call himself a ninja?"

Taking the fish out of his mouth Happy answers; "Because that's what Naruto told all of us he is."

Lucy pales at the thought. Ninjas were assassins, and like all assassins, they had a terrible reputation as cold blooded killers.

Naruto opens one eye looking dryly over at Lucy. "Right now you were thinking a ninja is supposed to be ruthless cold blooded assassins that lurk in the shadows and only fights at night, right?"

The buxom blond girl blushes as she looks down in embarrassment. "Yes." However she blinks and looks back to her fellow blond. "You were awake the whole time?"

"Lightly napping, and trust me Lucy, not everything is like what you read from a manga or book or even what you hear about ninja. We have to do normal things too, like everyone else, in order to survive."

Now Lucy's curiosity get the best of her. "So what do you do besides guild jobs?"

"Oh he is all over Magnolia helping out when someone needs something done. From walking dogs to repairing people's houses, carrying overly heavy crates for an old lady's shop, arrange flowers, that sorta stuff." Natsu said, deciding to bring himself in the conversation.

Lucy lifts an eyebrow, not believing her ears. "Arranging flowers?"

Naruto rolls his eyes, clearly not amused by Natsu's jabs at his day to day skills. "Pinky means gardening. I have been doing that since I was little kid." One of the few small hobbies he really enjoyed and never stopped besides pranks.

Smiling, Lucy decides to change gears, current ones broken from confusion. "So what is Fairy Tail like?"

Natsu smirks while Naruto chuckles, Happy deciding to speak for them both. "We won't spoil it."

"Aye, sir!"

XxX ~ Era ~ XxX

As the early morning sun raises, the governing body of over all the guilds; otherwise known as the Magic council, is called in to an impromptu session. The nine members convene in the main chamber which is a large magic seal as the floor.

All of them take a, save one, look dryly at the destruction of the port town Hargeon left by Naruto and Natsu.

"Those idiots in Fairy Tail have gone and done it again! Now they gone and destroyed an entire port!" A male councilman almost yells out.

"What is the matter with them?" Another councilman asks out loud.

"Do we know which members were involved with this 'little' mess?" The chairman speaks in an exasperated tone.

A diminutive elderly man in tan slacks and stripped sweater with large bushy eyebrows and odd triple pointed hat speaks. "Natsu Dragneel and Naruto Uzumaki." Most eyes shift towards his way when hearing the second name.

The gorgeous raven haired woman wearing a low cut one long sleeve kimono with a red choker stands at the old man's right slightly licks her lips. _Naruto Uzumaki…_

"Uzumaki? He normally is the sanest one of the whole guild. Rarely get any complaints about him. Or is it mainly due to him repairing all the damage done with those weird clones of his he can make?" The chairman asks. His actions may diminish a bit of the damage done, but it doesn't replace destroyed property. Not to mention the fact that some of that destruction was caused by him in the first place.

Fairy Tail, they were all the same.

"I believe he calls it 'Kage-Bunshin' sir. And for the most part people really love him for all the work he does outside of normal sanctioned jobs. He truly believes in hard work that much is plainly clear to see." The raven haired woman says smiling with voice a sultry tone.

Most of the council raises an eyebrow to her tone. "You're quite taken of him Ultear."

To the short elderly wizard's left a handsome man wearing a fancy white suite with short blue hair and strange tattoo over his right eye smirks. "Well I for one am rather quite fond of the dimwits and their lazy fare attitude."

"That is very true Siegrain. They may behave like fools but let's not forget they are an extremely capable lot." The short elderly wizard nods.

Another councilman grunts, intrigued as well. "That is true. They do pose quite the quandary."

The blue haired man smiles. "I think we should leave them be. After all if it wasn't for those fools... Think how boring this world would be."

Ultear stops an image of Naruto using that strange spell or, a jutsu, whatever, called Rasengan on Bora. _His power is so fascinating. Along with that very strange magic of his. I know he would never sway to us. But I still want to see more of his power._

XxX ~ Magnolia ~ XxX

Lucy could not believe what was in front of her as both Naruto and Natsu smirk at her with Happy sitting on the blond sage's shoulder. In front of them was the very guild their new friend couldn't stop smiling at the moment they left the train station. In fact, her smile only grew with even more excitement.

The guild itself is by far the largest building in Magnolia, next to the Kardia cathedral. A three story building that, to Naruto, looks a lot like some of the pagoda style houses from the old clans back in his own world. At the top of the building is a golden pointed tip dome that looks like something from Sunagakure. The large Fairy Tail banner hanging proudly on the second floor exterior.

All in all a really damn cool looking place by the young Sennin's standards. And by Lucy's face, she was already in love with the building alone.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail Lucy!" Happy smiles brightly.

Lifting up his leg Natsu kicks open the doors. "WE MADE IT BACK ALIVE!"

"We're home." Naruto and Happy say together, giving a deadpanning look at Natsu.

Inside, Lucy sees that the first floor of Fairy Tail resembles a large tavern complete with a well sized bar with bar stools. Around the bar are at least a dozen tables where the members of the guild cheer loudly now seeing two of its members are back.

Leaning back on chair a man with beaver-like front teeth smirks at the dragon-slayer; "Hey Natsu heard you destroyed a-GAH!"

Before finishing that sentence, Natsu's foot makes contact with the man's face sending him and table he sat at flying. Lucy only looks mortified while Naruto face palms and Happy sighs.

"Why on earth did you do that?!" Lucy screams.

"You lied about that Salamander! I am going to kick your ass!" Natsu roars, almost failing at keeping the fire in his belly from coming out his mouth.

The beaver toothed man sits up from under the broken table with a tick mark on his head. "It is a rumor I heard you dumb-ass! Don't get mad at me!"

Just barely containing his inferno, Natsu screams. "It was just a rumor?!"

Lucy only gawks as soon as Natsu and the other guild member start fighting and literally ripping through the guild hall sparking mostly everyone else into a massive brawl. Naruto only shakes his head while Happy wisely stays on his shoulder.

"And this is a normal day" The blond Sennin sighs.

"You're just kidding right?" Lucy asks meekly.

Happy only sighs on Naruto's shoulder. "Aye, we are not kidding."

"So, Natsu finally made it back, HUH?!"

Looking over to the bar the buxom blond blushes a storm seeing a man around Natsu's height and same build with short raven dark hair standing proudly in only his boxers and a necklace. On the right side of his chest is a blue version of the Fairy Tail symbol.

"That is Gray, Fairy Tail's residential nudist, also normal." Naruto explains feeling his eye twitching.

Gray stomps over to epicenter of the brawl. "Time to settle things once and for all Natsu!"

"Gray, your clothes!" A sultry female voice speaking over the chaos.

Gray jumps in without a second thought about his outfit. "I don't have time for that!"

Sitting on one the bar stools is a tall beautiful fair skinned voluptuous young woman with mid-back length wavy brunette hair with two long bangs framing her face as her only eyes look on dryly. wearing a pair of hip hugging carpi pants, a light colored belt with a heart shaped buckle, high-heel sandals, four metal bracelets with two one biceps another on his wrists. Last part of her outfit is a blue bikini top holding her perfectly sized breasts. Her Fairy Tail mark on her left side of her waist.

"Our fortune teller Cana. Loads of fun, you'll see." Naruto points to the bar for Lucy.

Cana sighs. "This is why I don't date the men here. They just have zero to no class."

Naruto feels a few tick marks on his face as he glares over at the brunette; "So says the woman who, when was really drunk off her ass, liked trying to get into my pants!"

Cana only winks back as she nearly purrs, clearly proud of her attempts. "Come on, a girl has to have some fun!"

**"I am surprised you never went out with that female ningen,"** Kyuubi chimes in his opinion.

_Cana-chan is a really good person but I am not into drunks. We can thank baa-chan for that. _

"Come over here and fight me Natsu!" Gray yells kicking away a broken chair.

The said rosette haired man glares over while punching away a guild member. "Not until you put some clothes on!"

Walking past Naruto, Happy and Lucy, who is currently hiding behind her fellow blond, now gasps seeing a tall towering short white spiky haired man with his arms crossed. Wearing the same Gakuran style outfit like Naruto but blue dark blue with the collar open and sandals.

A now eighteen year old Elfman scowls at the scene. "It's not even noon and you brats are whining like spoiled babies!"

Naruto smirks and waves up at the towering figure. "Yo, Elfman!"

Shifting his gaze right the tall man sees Naruto squinting at him while waving his hand and Happy eating a fish on his friend's shoulder. Elfman lifts an eyebrow seeing a young blond woman meekly hiding behind Naruto. Mentally shrugging it off he looks back to his best friend.

"Mira-nee has been waiting for you."

Almost instantly, to Lucy's disbelief, she sees Naruto go ghostly white with a look of pure terror in his eyes. "She heard about Hargeon."

However, before Naruto could ever bring up weak retort dual fists slams into Elfman's face sending him flying. Lucy only sweat drops. "They took him down that easily?"

"Well it got nosier in here." A smooth male voice catches Lucy's attention.

There sitting at a table is a handsome average height man with a beautiful girl in each arm with short burnt orange hair wearing rimless azure glasses. He is wearing an open green jacket with a white fur collar with orange shirt with odd face underneath. Finally he wears baggy jeans with brown shoes.

The buxom blond looks over to Uzumaki. "And that is?"

"That is Loke. Don't let his charm fool you the man is a pure player. He really is a good loyal friend but still a womanizer."

Both wince seeing Loke take a hit from a can that would hit the girls.

"Are you okay Loke?" one the girl asks with concern.

Grunting Loke gets to his feet showing the girls a charming smirk. "I'm going to go fight. So I can protect you two."

"Good luck Loke!" The girls say together swooning.

Naruto does a double take while Happy sweat drops seeing Lucy having a book out marking Loke's picture with an 'X' with a red marker. "Well he is off my list." They also notice other male members of the guild.

_She has a potential boyfriend list?_ Both Naruto and Happy thought the exact same thing.

"What the hell is wrong with these people?" Lucy deadpans.

The young Sennin was about to object till they see Natsu slamming a broken table at someone. Naruto chuckles rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I would like to say we're just a little bit of a rowdy bunch here."

"~Oh, Foxy-Kun!" A soft melodic voice speaks above the brawl.

The whole guild suddenly freezes and goes deathly silent as Lucy sees Naruto going ramrod straight and pale white as a ghost with Happy flying off his shoulder and landing on hers. Looking behind them the buxom celestial wizard cheeks turns pure scarlet as she feels her heart rate slightly jump.

_It's her!_ "Mirajane..." Lucy whispers warmly. _In the flesh!_

Her moonlit blue eyes look sternly right at Naruto as she wears her usual elegant and sleeveless ankle-length maroon dress with a pleated skirt. On the chest is adorned by a large pink bow, and similarly colored trimmings framing her neckline that is acting as the straps, as well as circle around the waist and finally her high-heel shoes. Around her neck is a silver necklace with a beautiful azure oval gem.

"Turn around Foxy-kun." Mirajane places her hands on her hips.

As if his body is on a turning wheel Lucy sweat drops as Naruto slowly begins to make eye contact. The blond Sennin weakly smiles; "H… Hey Mira-chan."

_For such a supposed bad ass ninja his sole fear is a woman who barely comes up to his chest_. Is the exact same thought among everyone in the guild hall? With a single eye open even the Kyuubi was watching silently while trying not to laugh his ass off.

Mirajane says nothing as she only continues to stare at Naruto. "If that look is about Hargeon I can explain."

Now crossing her arms under her breasts the take-over wizard lifts an eyebrow but still stays silent.

"That lead we had of Salamander was actually some jabroni pretender using illegal charm rings on women into thinking they were in love, but was actually using them for a slave ring. So Natsu and I stopped him. We just happen to blow up half of the port along with it." He was still proud of stopping that bastard Bora.

The white haired beauty sill stays quiet, but she was now sporting a dry look on her face. Not able to take it anymore, Naruto slumps his shoulders and bows his head. "I promise not to blow up another port Mira-chan."

Those words leaving his lips a sweet smile appears on Mirajane's lips as she pats the blond's head. "That's a good boy."

Saying that a large goofy smile appears on Naruto's face looking back up as Mirajane giggles at him. Gazing over the beautiful white hair wizard now sees a gawking blond girl. "Oh, are you new here?"

Within seconds the entire guild members plus Lucy face fault onto the ground but quickly rise. "THAT'S ALL HE GETS!?" All of Magnolia stopping hearing the thundering yells from Fairy Tail.

With that, the brawl resumes like nothing had happened.

Clearing his throat Naruto looks over to his fellow blond. "Lucy this is Mirajane Strauss. Mira-Chan this is Lucy, a Celestial Wizard."

"Welcome, you would be the first Celestial Wizard we ever had!" Mirajane says smiling sweetly.

The blush returns to Lucy's cheeks seeing the take-over wizard's warm bright smile. Meekly bowing her head with a near whisper, a thank you coming from her lips, before Naruto puts his hands on each lady's shoulders making them duck from a stray beer bottle which flies safely over the trio. Standing normally the Sennin lightly glares.

"HEY!" The blond Sennin's voice roaring over the brawl. "Throw that at someone else Dattebayo!" Naruto growls shaking his fist.

"AYE!" Happy getting into the spirit of things, though from the side-lines only.

When shaking out of her stupor, hearing the white haired busty woman giggling at Naruto, Lucy weakly points in the direction of the ensuing madness while looking at a smiling Mirajane. "Shouldn't we try to stop them?"

"Oh, they are always like this, I just leave them alone." Mirajane waves off Lucy's concern. She was about to speak again before both ladies find themselves standing on the rafters with Naruto holding them just as Elfman is sent flying where Mirajane was standing and slams into a large table.

Lucy only blinks as the trio plus cat are back on ground level with Naruto letting go of their shoulders looking dryly over at an unconscious Elfman. "Thank you Foxy-Kun. It's kinda fun; don't you think Lucy-San?" Mirajane grins warmly.

A weak dumbfounded nod comes from the buxom blond as she shakily looks over at Naruto; "What did you do?"

The taller blond winks, playing coy. "What did 'I' do indeed?" _Glad Kakashi-Sensei taught me shunshin. _

**"Just took the lazy masked pervert for you nearly getting killed by his own technique from that wretched Uchiha brat to do something,"** Kyuubi chimes inside Naruto's head.

_He made up for it didn't him? Kakashi-Sensei helped both me and Sakura-Chan by training us for real. It was damn nice for Ero-Sennin to help me rebuild my skills from the ground up on that three year trip. From Taijutsu, chakra control, to even Fūinjutsu. Hell even Kenjutsu, who would guess I would find my gift in those last two. Nice knowing I took after Kaa-san _

The fox says nothing; he remembers well his container learning about his parentage when becoming a Chūnin upon returning with the pervert of a Sage from that training trip. It was a bittersweet moment for Naruto, learning he could be the last of his mother's clan.

Lucy pouts now knowing Naruto was not going to say what he did seconds ago. Soon the trio sees Gray slamming into a table now minus his boxers, which are now in a smirking Natsu's hand. The buxom blond blushes a storm covering her eyes while Mirajane, Naruto, and Happy only shake their heads.

"Give me back my underwear you jerk!" Gray roars, standing while naked as the day he was born.

For whatever reason the nudist turns, seeing Lucy blush becoming almost full body and having to covering her eyes. The blond Sennin only snorts catching his fellow blond's eyes looking through her fingers downwards at Gray which only makes Mirajane lightly giggles.

"Excuse me miss, may I please borrow your underwear?" The raven haired naked man asks politely.

Naruto's and Happy's jaws drop, clocking the floor so hard they would feel it later. "Did he just ask that?!"

Without missing a beat, Lucy miraculously grabs a giant paper fan out of nowhere and slamming it into Grey's face sending him flying. "AS IF!"

The buxom blond soon finds herself being carried bridal style by Loke giving a charming smile. "A woman needs to be treated with care."

A hard fist from Elfman rockets the residential lady killer away making Lucy yelp as she hits the ground. "REAL MEN SPEAK WITH THEIR FISTS LOKE!"

Naruto sweat drops, clearly seeing resemblance time and again. _Guy-Sensei and bushy brow would just love Elfman_. He hears Kyuubi snorting. Both Mirajane and Naruto help Lucy back up to her feet as everyone gets rowdier, seeing Natsu straight kick into Elfman's face, sending him flying.

Cana sighs, tossing her current empty drink away. "So much for having a drink in peace." Picking up a single card from her deck it begins glowing green. "Alright you guys I suggest you knock it off!"

Slamming his fist into his open palm, Gray, who recovered his boxers, glares over to Cana as frost builds around his hands. "Oh yeah Cana!? Says who?!"

Back to his feet, Elfman roars raising his right arm into the air as it shifts into stone. Not too far away flames cover Natsu's fists while Loke lightly touches the ring on his finger.

"What a bunch of nuisances." Loke glares to Natsu.

The dragon slayer only grins with a primal feral pleasure. "I'm ready for ya!"

Lucy hides fearfully behind Naruto who only sighs, Happy eating a fish on his shoulder while Mirajane stands beside him smiling. "Do they always fight like this?" The buxom blond asks weakly.

"AYE!" Happy replies taking the fish out of his mouth.

"Yep." Both Naruto and Mirajane say in unison.

As if this day couldn't raise her blood pressure anymore, she looked flabbergasted at the trio. "None of you sound worried!"

Lucy's eyes almost bulge out of her sockets as a giant horned figure appears in the middle of the guild hall slamming his foot on the ground shaking the entire building. "**WILL YOU FOOLS STOP BICKERING LIKE CHILDREN?!**" His deep authoritative voice echoing throughout the entire hall.

"HE'S HUGE!" Lucy squeaks out with her eyes like dinner plates.

Everyone within the guild freezes save Naruto and Mirajane who both look at the giant smiling. "I am sorry; I did not know you were here master." Mirajane speaks up.

"Yo, Jiji!" Naruto promptly getting a sharp elbow to the stomach from his white haired friend looking at him dryly while the blond glares back at her.

Lucy gawks. "Did you just say master!?"

Soon the trio looks over hearing Natsu laughing, not letting the giant intimidate him. "You guys are a bunch of babies! Looks like I won this round you-GUH!" Before he could finish that sentence the master stomps on him, making Lucy squeak.

The master shifts his head to Lucy as she quickly hides behind Naruto. "**Seems we have a new recruit**."

"Yes, Sir!" Lucy squeaks out behind Naruto.

Roaring as magic gather around him, the buxom blond only gawks with her eyes bulging as the master soon begins to shrinks.

Naruto snorts, rolling his eyes. _I swear he does this on purpose._

**"Like you can talk."** Kyuubi growls out.

Lucy's jaw almost unhinges watching the master shrink down to his natural very short height wearing a white shirt with the guild emblem in the center and orange shorts, and orange hoodie over his shirt. Finally on his head is an orange with blue stripes jester hat and papers rolled up in his left hand and waves with his right to Lucy with warm smile.

"Nice to meet ya!"

_Jiji wears orange and looks cool. Meanwhile I used to wear orange and people bitched at me, unfair I say!_ Naruto mentally grumbles.

The Kyuubi now could not stop himself; **"BECAUSE A NINJA IS SUPPOSE TO 'BLEND' IN WITHIN THEIR ENVIRONMENT! NOT LOOK LIKE A FUCKING WALKING CAUTION SIGN YOU DUMB ASS!"**

The blond Sennin winces hearing the fox yelling/roaring at him.

"He's tiny! This guy is really in charge here?" Lucy asks while still gawking.

Mirajane giggles, having fun at Lucy's expense. "Of course he is. Let me introduce you to our guild master; Makarov Dreyar."

"Or Jiji as me, Natsu, and Gray call him. More fitting for his age." Naruto chimes in getting an elbow to the stomach again by Mira.

Turning around Makarov jumps into the air to the second floor balcony. He stops as his head hits the wooden railing of the stairs to S-class lounge. Groaning, Makarov recovers as he stands on the railing looking down at the guild members.

"You gone and done it again! You bunch of clods, look what the council sent to me." Makarov lifts up the papers in his hands shaking it angrily. "NARUTO! I thought you were supposed to watch Natsu, not join in and destroy a port!"

The blond Sennin's eye twitches, annoyed at being blamed for this. "Don't look at me Dattebayo! Besides I agree with Natsu on kicking that Bora's ass for impersonating us! Besides, god knows what he would have done to Lucy and those girls if we did not stop him!"

The guild is silent as Naruto and Makarov glare at each other before the master breaks it when sighing. "I do not disagree on stopping that man and his thugs but did you both have to blow up Hargeon?"

Naruto sighs raising his hands stopping any further argument while Natsu sheepishly scratches the back of his head. Lucy looks at her new fellow blond friend with concern as he lowers his hands.

The old master then resumes at the rest of the guild members. "Grey!" the said exhibitionist lifts and eyebrow looking up. "Good job in taking down that smuggling organization. But did you after to walk around the town **NAKED** afterwards! Then ran off after stealing some underwear while it was being dried!"

The raven haired man looks sheepish while scratching his cheek; "Least I wasn't naked then right?"

Naruto face-palms while Mirajane shakes her head sighing. Even the Kyuubi sweatdrops at Grey's antics.

Elfman sweatdrops looking at the man dryly; "Then don't be naked to start with." _Idiot…_

Makarov sighs; "Elfman, you had a mission to escort a VIP, but** assaulted him **during the mission!"

"Well he said 'men are all about education' so…" the tall man rubs his chin awkwardly.

Mira looks dryly over at her brother while the blond Sennin snickers watching his buddy shrink under his sister's gaze.

"The Council does not pay for your tab after drinking **15 barrels** of alcohol Cana," A vein pops on Makarov's head as he glares down at the fortune teller.

_Damn they found out_; Cana mentally curses looking away.

"Holy shit," Naruto actually gawks to the buxom brunette. _And people say I'm ballsy dattebayo…_

"**More like fucking insane in my grand personal opinion."**

_OI!_

"Loke… Flirting with councilman Reiji's granddaughter. And that talent agency charging us for damages compensation as well!" The said playboy of Fairy Tail looks away sheepishly.

Makarov soon slumps forward; "Once again Natsu… Wiping out the Devon thief family but destroying seven houses that belong to the townspeople! Not to mention leveling a historical clock tower in Tully Village. Burning down a church in Freesia. Damaging parts of Lupinus castle. Nazuna Ravine observatory COLLAPSING and closed till further notice!"

Lucy sweatdrops while gawking at the rosette haired man; _all of those incidents were Natsu! _

Rubbing his eyes Naruto only shakes his head while Mirajane softly giggles at him.

"Have you all lost your minds?! Is all you kids are good for is getting the higher ups mad at me?!" Makarov trembles with some rage.

Everyone looks down sheepishly while Lucy lightly bites her lip and Mirajane rests her head on Naruto's shoulder.

"Well… I say to hell with the magic council." The old master smirks setting the papers on fire.

Throwing the burning papers into the air Natsu quickly leaps up grabbing his new snack with his mouth. Looking on Lucy watches with surprise while Naruto and Mirajane smile.

"Now listen up. Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason right? Magic…" Naruto interrupts by clearing his throat as loudly as possible, which he earns a glare from the old Wizard and roll of the eyes from Mirajane "Or Chakra… is not a miraculous power; it is a talent when the flow of energy within us and the flow of energy around are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic you must have a strong mind and ability to focus. It must take over your very being and come pouring out of your soul! If we always worry about rules then our magic will never progress! Follow the path you believe in and never be afraid! Cause that's what makes Fairy Tail number 1!"

Everyone soon cheers while Lucy smiles brightly with Mirajane while Naruto chuckles. These guys are fun that's for sure.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After things finally settle down and Naruto uses his clones to take everything broken out in the back and brought new tables and chairs for the hall. Lucy smiles as Mirajane stamps the Fairy Tail guild symbol on the top of her right hand. Naruto smirks while watching sitting on a stool at the bar by Makarov who sits on top of the bar with a mug in his hand.

Mirajane takes of the guild stamp as now a pink guild symbol is on Lucy's hand. "Now you are a full-fledged member of Fairy Tail!"

The blond Sennin and Take-Over wizard both chuckle seeing Lucy lightly dancing around and slightly cooing as she cannot stop looking at her new Fairy tail symbol. Lucy literally skips over to Natsu who stands at the request board beside Nab.

Naruto only watches while chuckling. "That girl is different, I will say that. But she does have a good heart, and absolutely loves magic."

Makarov grunts with a soft smile while Mirajane giggles watching the said buxom blond yell at Natsu for calling her Luigi. The trio soon sees Lucy walking over and sitting on a stool beside Naruto, thinking. She looks over to the master. "What is chakra?"

"That is what I use Lucy." Naruto answers gaining a few people's attention. "Chakra is combining both the physical and spiritual energies within the body. And you saw what I could do with it in Hargeon. It's energy like magic, but I use it differently"

Lucy nods, thinking back to that town. "You were standing and walking on top of the water, used that wind jutsu-thingy. But what was that one thing you used on Bora?"

Resting his elbow on the bar table opening his hand Naruto forms a perfect Rasengan at the center of his palm. Lucy, Mirajane, and now Natsu coming over looking at the blond Sennin's jutsu. The dragon slayer always found the Rasengan cool to look at. Makarov opens a single eye looking keenly at the spinning ball of energy.

"This is the Rasengan!" Naruto smirks before getting serious. "This is a very dangerous Jutsu and I have different versions of it more dangerous than this."

Lucy had her hands to her ears. "It sounds like a drill."

"The Rasengan is made from a high amount of energy condensed and compact into this small sphere. When it hits a target it grinds into them, just like a drill." Naruto explains seriously. "This is not a jutsu to be used unless I want to cause some damage."

The buxom blond shivers at how serious he sounds.

"That is just the tip of the iceberg. Naruto is highly proficient at hand to hand combat, art of the sword, and fūinjutsu correct?" Makarov gains the kids attention. Naruto gives him the thumbs up. "That last one has been quite handy for the guild and Magnolia."

"Fūinjutsu?" Lucy tilts her head at her fellow blond.

"The art of seals. They have been useful all over Magnolia and even Natsu-Kun with his motion sickness, Foxy-kun is quite literally a jack of all trades!" Mirajane comments while giving a guild member a drink.

Natsu smirks. "Hell, he actually beat Erza in a sparring match. And no one ever has done that."

The buxom blond's eyes widen as she gawks at Naruto. _He beat the Queen of the Fairies!_

Rubbing the back of his head the Sennin looks sheepishly to Lucy "To be fair, we kicked each other's asses all over Magnolia and I only got very lucky with Erza-Chan. I may be good, but she is damn wicked with those swords, much better than I'll ever be."

Elfman, who has been sitting quietly by Naruto, snorts and rolls his head to the side. _And he is the only one who can get away with calling her Erza-Chan. _

Makarov shakes his head. "You sell yourself too short lad. While it was a difficult fight you proved the better. You did brilliantly."

Naruto shrugs as he sips his drink. Erza had acknowledged that his hand to hand skills were much greater than hers. They helped train each other in what the other excelled at. Erza tutored him in the way of the sword, while Naruto taught her all he knew of taijutsu.

Natsu goes back to the request board standing beside Nab. Lucy watches quietly as Mirajane cleans a glass before looking to Naruto. "Want to go on a job tomorrow? Found one not far from town."

The blond Sennin smirks at his friend, wanting to get back to jobs with a less 'explosive' teammate. "Sounds fun."

Lucy looks at the two curiously but the voice of a child catches her attention. "Jiji, how come my Tou-san is not back yet?"

Turning on his stool, Naruto and the others see a young boy they have known for quite a while. Around six years old with short deep purple hair with bangs mostly around his face, wearing a green shirt with and's' on it and orange shorts and sandals. His blue eyes almost shine like Naruto's but they were full of worry.

Seeing Lucy's confusion, Mirajane leans slightly over the bar and whispers the answer to the unspoken question. "That's Romeo Conbolt, his father Macao is a guild member."

The buxom blond nods as Makarov grumbles. "Romeo, you're a wizard's son. Have some faith in your father that he will return home."

Naruto quickly stood up as Romeo was about to yell till seeing the blond stand. "NIISAN!" The Sennin kneels down picking up the boy as he ran over hugging him tightly.

"Where is Macao Jiji?" Naruto asks standing while rubbing his little brother's back soothingly.

After a careful consideration and thought he spoke evenly. "Last I heard he took the job to Mt. Hakobe."

Romeo tried fighting his tears, but was losing. "And Tou-san's been gone for a week! Mt. Hakobe is not that far can someone please go looking for him!"

Makarov sighs as Naruto speaks up, not letting the old man give any sass. "I will Otouto."

Romeo, along with the guild, looks at him with surprise till a large teary eye smile comes from the little boy as his big brother figure puts him down and starts leaving. Mirajane sighs, though hides a smile. "I'll go too. Levy-chan, can you please take over the bar for me? Be a dear."

The petite blue haired woman nods as the beautiful take-over wizard soon catches up to her friend. Feeling a hand on his head, Natsu walks past Romeo as Lucy soon follows with Happy flying beside her.

Getting behind the bar, Levy adjusts her yellow bandanna as she watches the four leave with a light smile. "I swear; Naruto can be more stubborn than a bull."

Makarov chuckles, smiling as he watches them leave. "True, Naruto may not show it but he is a very empathic person. The moment he senses something is wrong he won't hesitate to help anyone." The guild master looks down at Romeo. "Your father will be alright."

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

While Mt. Hakobe was not too far from Magnolia, it would still be a long walk. And while Naruto could have made it there quickly on his own, he would not leave his friends who also wanted to help. So the four, plus cat, take a carriage ride up to the mountain.

On the left side of the small carriage sits Naruto and Mirajane while Lucy and Natsu sit on the right. On the Sennin's shoulder Happy somehow has a fish which he munches on greedily. The dragon slayer keeps his gaze out the window while Lucy fiddles with the hem of her skirt.

Mirajane tilts her head looking at the celestial wizard, curious why Lucy was anxious. "What's on your mind Lucy-San?"

The blond lightly 'eep's before taking a small breath, focusing on the matter at mind. "You two are in a team? I didn't know guild members formed their own teams."

"It happens most the time. Some people form teams just for a tough mission while others form long term teams which last for years forming strong friendships." Naruto explains flipping a Kunai in his hand. "In Fairy Tail, there is Shadow Gear and the Thunder God Tribe." The blond looks over to Mirajane. "Mira-chan and I have been a team for two years now… Say, did we ever name our team?"

Putting a finger to her chin in thought before shrugging Mira shakes her head, "I don't think we ever did Foxy-Kun. And if we're not doing jobs I usually work at the bar in the guild while Foxy-kun helps around town or other guild members." Then a sly look comes on her face. "Or playing pranks on people when you think I am not looking."

Naruto quickly averted his gaze to the ceiling while whistling a tune. Natsu chuckles while Lucy sweats drops and Mirajane giggles. They notice Lucy in thought. "Well how about Team Foxy?"

Mirajane beams at the name from Lucy while Naruto feels his eye twitching. In the back of his mind he can hear the Kyuubi laughing like a madman at him. Looking over to his partner he sweat drops seeing Mira giving him the puppy-dog eyes which always make him cave in.

Slumping his shoulders in defeat the Sennin nods, defeated by the eyes of power he both loved seeing and dreaded. "Team Foxy it is…"

The two girls cheer as they high five each other while Natsu laughs at Naruto who glares at him. The sudden jerking of the carriage makes them know they stopped as they soon hear the carriage rider, clearly in distress about moving any more. "This is as far as I will go; the rest is up to you."

Opening the carriage doors, Lucy is given one hell of a shock seeing a massive snow storm at the base of the mountains and looking worse going up. "How could the weather change from summer to winter so fast?!"

Mira looks up to the mountain peak, happily answering. "Mt. Hakobe has always been known for its raging snow storms." Her eyes widen at the feeling as she sees Naruto's sage coat gently put around her shoulders, she turns smiling, "Thank you Naruto-Kun."

Mirajane soon blinks seeing her favorite blond taking off his Gakuran jacket showing his chain mesh shirt and giving it to Lucy. She only smiles wider, loving that about him. _You always care for others more than for yourself_. Pulling the coat on she can smell his scent which makes her lightly blush but shakes it off.

Lucy looks unsure as she puts on the jacket. "Are sure this is alright Naruto? What if you catch a cold?"

To her surprise her fellow blond laughs, proudly mocking that statement. "I never caught a cold in my life!" _Not when you have giant malicious surly old furball sealed inside you keeping you healthy and fucking hyper_.

**"Love you to kit…"** Only an idiot would not get the blatantly thick sarcasm from the fox.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Going up the snow covered path of the mountain the now called Team Foxy and Natsu, Happy, and Lucy try making it through the heavy snow coming down. With Naruto's jacket zipped up she was surprised it is keeping her warm, granted the thing is huge on her but surprisingly soft and comfy. Looking over she sees Mirajane also warm despite the short sleeves but Naruto's red coat really looks big on her.

Ahead of her and Mira she saw Naruto amazingly unaffected by the cold and Natsu with Happy on the rosette haired man's arm. "What job brought Macao here anyway?" Lucy calling out through the high winds. How can Naruto and Natsu not be bothered by this weather?!

"He came to slay some Vulcan; I think that's what he said." Naruto calls out while keeping his eyes and senses sharp.

"HEY MACAO! WHERE ARE YOU BUDDY!?" Natsu roars out for which he gets the back of his head slapped by Mirajane and Naruto. "What was that for?!"

"You want to cause an avalanche!?" both answer sternly.

Lucy giggles watching Natsu pout. Naruto's eyes widen as his senses scream at him. He sharply looks up only for him and Natsu to be slammed by two large snow balls.

"NATSU/NARUTO-KUN!" Mirajane and Lucy yells out.

Both ladies quickly back up as a large creature slams into the ground in front of them shooting up snow. As it begins to clear they see a giant primate looking creature with white fur on its upper body except his bare muscular chest, and finally with massive muscular arms, pointy ears and head. It smells the air, creeping out Lucy.

"Human women..!" It actually spoke.

Soon a lecherous smile appears as it surprises both ladies on grabbing them around the waists and running off. Lucy screams for Natsu and Naruto.

XxX ~ Summit of Mt. Hakobe ~ XxX

_How did we get ourselves into this mess!?_ The buxom blond mentally whines.

Inside a gigantic cave made of pure ice a slightly frighten Lucy stands beside a calm Mirajane as they both watch the Vulcan dancing around the two while gyrating his hips back and forth. Lucy interlocks her arm with Mira's as the Take-Over wizard keeps her eyes on the giant monkey.

"Why is this giant ape so excited?!" Lucy asks out loud.

Mirajane raises a finger with her free hand, explaining academically. "Vulcan males are attracted to human females. Long story short they're perverts."

Lucy eyes almost bulge out of their sockets looking at Mira as both soon slightly lean back with the Vulcan looking at them with a creepy lecherous smile.

_My first time is not going to be with some creepy giant ape pervert!_ Lucy roared in her head.

Lowering her free hand Mirajane first hears noise behind the Vulcan as Lucy pales. Three more of the giant white apes jump out of the shadows dancing around with the first. The buxom blond starts shaking as Mira slightly narrowed her eyes keeping her focus on all of the Vulcans.

"HEY YOU BIG APES!" Hearing a familiar voice almost makes Lucy smile as she looks to the entrance. "WHERE IS MACAO?! TELL ME!" Natsu roars as he charges in.

As quickly as her smile came Lucy jaw nearly drops seeing Natsu slip on the ice floor with his sandals, slamming on his back and slides passed all of them with the, now the four Vulcans blinking thinking they heard something. Mira's eyes narrow as large bat-like wings appear on her back as she flies holding Lucy and stays in the air. The four beasts look up dumbfounded while Lucy hugs Mira as the said woman looks down at the Vulcan.

Lucy sweat drops and winces seeing her new friend Natsu slam into the ice wall. "Why does he always feel like being dramatic?"

Mira keeps her gaze on the Vulcan, choosing to concentrate on the Vulcans than Lucy's curiosity "You lot have all been very naughty and I would like to know where our friend Macao is please." Mira asks in her usual soft voice but underlined with a strong tone.

The four apes tilt their heads while scratching them. They look at each other as Natsu gets back up. "You guys understand what we're saying right?! Macao is a human man; he came here about a week ago! Now where you assholes hiding him!" The four look over to Natsu blinking.

Lucy only gawks at Natsu then looks to Mira who sighs. "He's always like this isn't he?"

"Yep, pretty much… FOXY!" Mira voice echoes through the cave.

The first Vulcan feels a weight landing on his body, shifting his head to his right he sees a blond human man sitting on his shoulder glaring at him. "You threw giant snow balls at me and Natsu, then kidnap Mira-Chan and Lucy. I am so kicking your Ero-primate asses Dattebayo."

The Vulcan got mad at the ninja on his shoulder, and took a wild swing to get him off. Naruto flips over the Vulcan and lands behind him before twisting around and firing his own punch, slamming his fist into the creature's back and making him stagger and fall to the icy floor.

The other three were going in rage to take the intruder out, but were all stopped as Natsu gets in front of them, sliding on the ice and managing to stop for once to gain some ground. Leaping forward, Natsu rose a harsh sandal-heel kick into the middle Vulcan's face, making him fly back as well from the force.

Natsu lands from the blow and was going for another when he slips, again, and falls flat on his face, skidding between the two perverted monkeys. A second of silence passes before the Vulcans take to beating the crap out of Natsu, a wild flurry of blows going between the three.

Lucy was staring in surprise at the entire thing. Natsu was, more or less, flailing about in rage, whilst Naruto was keeping his cool and going for the joint, which reminds her to wince as Naruto made the elbow lock he was giving the one monkey start to hurt, and the popping was horrible.

"This is so unreal!"

Mirajane was just smiling, watching in amusement as the beasts got their deserved beatings. "It's just their way. Foxy-kun is quite the ninja, he doesn't fight halfhearted... Though he does tend to be just as rowdy sometimes."

As if to prove her point, Naruto kicks the Vulcan to the ground and huffs, crossing his arms and yelling. "Did that get through you thick skull, pinhead? Cause there's more comin' if you don't tell me where Macao is! No answer? Then come get another can of punishment, Dattebayo!"

As the punishment from Naruto continues, Natsu finally gets the upper hand, kicking one so hard it slides along the ice away, and wrestling the other from its arm and head lock over his head and slamming it into the floor. "DAMMIT YOU PERVERTED YETI'S! YOU WILL TELL ME WHERE MY FRIEND IS NOW! MACAO!"

Jumping up into the air Natsu goes for a dropping heel kick, but was then tackled by the fourth Vulcan, and slammed into the ice before being rolled up into a pseudo-ball and flung at the fight with Naruto.

Naruto heard the rumble behind him and didn't even hesitate to jump out of the way; looking to see it was Natsu, flailing around as he collided with the Vulcan he was fighting. The fight was going on for quite some time, and Naruto was not pleased with their inability to take on four perverted monsters. "Natsu! Time to eat!"

Natsu groaned as he got up from being dizzy, shaking himself clear. Seeing Naruto he seen the familiar signals and grinned. "Oh yeah, baby, give me that FIRE!"

Naruto aimed right for Natsu. "Open wide! _**Katon: Gōkakyū No Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**_" With that a large ball of fire spewed from Naruto's mouth, forming a giant ball and leveling towards Natsu.

Lucy remembers how he ate the fire from that scumbag Bora. Still, it didn't make sense to her why Naruto would try and attack Natsu. Though her eyes went wide as her jaw drops. Happy, who was eating a fish again on Mirajane's shoulder, laughed. "Aye, Natsu and Naruto are quite the team. When Natsu's running on smoke, Naruto can give him some firepower"

Natsu gobbled up the huge ball of Fire, cheeks bulging as he sucked every wisp and ember into his gullet. Finally finishing he sighed and pats his belly. "Man, most fire is generic and tastes okay, sometimes I get bad ones like Bora's substitute fire, but I ALWAYS love a good Fire Jutsu for a meal!"

Grinning manically, he slams his fists together, fire pouring around him. "Naruto! Line 'em up for me!"

Naruto was already on it, slapping each and blowing raspberries in their faces. As they started chasing them, he dodges their attempts to tackle him and scribbles on their faces. Once they surrounded him, Naruto grins, holding the marker he used. "Marked and ready!" The Vulcans could only look to each other and see Naruto had drawn on their faces. One with make-up looking like a lady, another had a weird red lip extension and shadowed eyes with white stuff all over, the third with a crab and seagull on his face, and another with random scribbles. Looking back to that one Naruto hummed. "Too bad I had no time to really get artsy with you. See ya!" And with that he leaps out of the way.

Before the Vulcan could jump, Natsu clasped his hands together and blew through them. "**FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR****!**" A spiraling flame was sent directly at the four Vulcans, and it hit immediately, setting them all ablaze.

As the fire danced, Naruto stood by Natsu, landing by him, and held up some of their lunch they brought. "Roast some marshmallows?" Though their victory was short lived, as the Vulcans came for the fire, their faces clean, and looking very mean. "...So much for that plan..."

Natsu groaned, holding his stomach, clearly not happy. "I lost all that delicious fire for nothing? Aww man... What a waste, surely they could have gone down and we'd be done with this. Now that fire will go out before we are through."

Naruto's eye twitched, he had a very do-able, high chance of succeeding, plan. But he knows he will be hunted down and badly hurt for doing it right in front of Mirajane. "Well... It was a good life. Cover your eyes Mira-Chan, Lucy, you too Natsu, you don't wanna see this."

The girls looked at each other as they land but do what they were told.

Natsu looked at Naruto confused, and was starting to ask. "What kind of plan you even thinking about Naruto? We just hit them with a full fire assault! What else can we do?"

Naruto sighs as he steps up and creates a few clones. "Just... Don't say I didn't warn you." All clones and Naruto himself put their hands up in a familiar cross seal, and the Vulcan start charging at him recklessly, howling to beat him lifelessly. "This will hurt..." Sweat dropping, he made one last prayer. _I really wish I didn't have to do this!_

Just as the Vulcans were about to strike, all Naruto's went up in smoke, covering everywhere. As it cleared, everyone looked to see what happened, Vulcans curious as to why someone would explode... Then they stared with eyes turning to heart and their jaws on the floor, tongues rolling out onto the floor, as in front of them were a few VERY voluptuous women, all naked, and posing provocatively for them.

"~oh, don't you brutes have anything better to do? ~ we're waiting~!" their voices soft and welcoming.

With that, the Vulcan's noses erupted into fountains of blood and their bodies were sailing back into the walls, knocking themselves unconscious from rapid-blood loss. Natsu to a less extent just had a minor powerful jet of blood send him on his back unconscious as well.

As the clones dispel and Naruto return to his normal self he looks over to Natsu in sheer disbelieving shock. _To think Natsu of all people is actually bit of a pervert. Hāremu no Jutsu, finds the inner perv no matter who you are_.

Removing their hands from their eyes Lucy and Mirajane look around in surprise seeing the four Vulcan plus Natsu unconscious on the group with silly goofy smiles on their faces. Looking over to Naruto they see the Sennin only shrugs while thanking god he gave Happy a fish. The talking cat was too busy eating to see what he used.

Lucy runs over to Natsu trying to wake him up while Naruto and Mirajane walk over to the unconscious Vulcan. Both with Happy now on the blond's shoulder again waiting quietly as light envelopes the four giant apes. Lucy looks over in surprise while Natsu begins to stir.

With the light fading as the buxom blond begins helping stand up Natsu who was about to say something to Naruto till seeing a familiar face. "Macao!"

Lying unconscious is a man in his thirties and about Naruto's height with dark blue hair slicked back a stubby chin. Wearing dark blue shirt with silver 'S', brown trousers black shoes, over his outfit is white trench with blue lining. Mira kneels down beside the man as Natsu runs over beside her with Lucy looking on dumbfounded.

Soon where the other three Vulcan were now there are three unconscious human men. "What is this? These guys were those perverted monkeys?" Lucy feels her eye twitching.

"Something like that." She turns looking to Naruto now standing beside her. "You see Vulcan possess people and take over their bodies for themselves."

Happy nods, smiling wickedly. "Aye, they're nothing but rotten body snatchers. Besides being massive uber perverts."

Taking out a scroll and kneeling down Naruto unrolls it on the frozen ground. Lucy sees strange letters written on the paper then sees her fellow blond going through odd hand signs. Slamming his right hand on paper's center it soon glows as Lucy sees first-aid supplies appearing out of a puff of smoke!

_What was that! Is that that strange fūinjutsu stuff?_ Lucy's mind wanders till seeing Naruto walk over to Natsu.

Naruto gave Natsu some supplies. "Help me with these guys Natsu."

Smiling wide and rubbing the blood from his nose, Naruto followed Naruto. "You bet!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After some quick patching up, Naruto made clones and had them take the three guys possessed by Vulcan back to Magnolia. The blond Sennin recognized them as just some folks who lived in town. The clones quickly took them to the hospital while they took Macao to their medical wing in Fairy Tail.

Lucy sits beside Macao's bed as Romeo sits in her lap trying not to cry. Natsu paces around the room while Naruto stands on the other side with Mira sitting in a chair in front of the blond. His large warm hands rest gently on her slim shoulders, one of her own hands interlocks with his fingers.

Hugging Romeo from behind, Lucy gently rocks him back and forth with her chin softly resting on his head. Humming gently trying to soothe the worried child, Lucy looks over between Macao and to Naruto and Mirajane.

The door opens to the room with the guild master walking in. "Calm down Natsu, Macao is fine he just needs some rest."

"Think we will all feel better when he wakes up Jiji." Naruto responds looking over to Makarov.

The old wizard nods sitting into a chair his size with Natsu slumping into one glaring at the ground. His cerulean eyes shift to everyone in the room.

"This is the one time…" Naruto's voice is soft but is above a whisper. "I wish I could understand what you two are going through, Natsu, Romeo."

While the said two plus Lucy look at the blond with confusion Mira lightly grips her friend's hand tighter. Makarov says nothing as he lightly grips his cane harder. Before anyone could ask what Naruto was saying they all hear rough groan from the bed.

Romeo's eyes widen as a tearful smile forms on his face. "TOU-SAN!"

"Romeo?" Macao's voice sounded tired. Trying sit up he only falls back down as his son leaps from Lucy to hugging his father tightly.

One could not help but smile warmly at seeing father and son reunited. Macao rubs his son's soothingly as he looks to the people in the room. "How long?"

"It's been a week since you went to Mt. Hakobe. You had us all worried my friend." Makarov speaks first.

Macao nods as Naruto takes over. "Next time, take some back up with you. Wakaba or, hell, even me. Unless I am with Mira-chan, just come find me next time."

The older fire Mage does have the decency in looking sheepish. "As the lad said my friend. Come find one of us or Naruto at the very least." Makarov speaks again coming over beside the bed.

Macao nods while Romeo who calmed down looks Natsu and Naruto smiling. "Thanks Niisan, Natsu, Mira-Chan, Lucy-San."

The buxom blond smiles along with Mira, while Naruto ruffles Romeo's hair with his hand. Natsu gives thumbs up with a large smile.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The guild that had been oddly quiet when seeing Naruto and Natsu bring in Macao begin cheering seeing the flare wizard coming out with Romeo beside him. The others soon follow as Mira retakes to the bar letting Levy happily go back to her table. Sitting back on a stool Lucy keeps a keen eye seeing Natsu and Naruto talking with Macao while Romeo plays with Happy.

Lucy smiles as she looks back to Mirajane. "This guild is really just like one big family."

Mira looks up with a warm smile. "So, Welcome home Lucy-Chan."

Naruto stares at the crazy, crazy bunch that he had come to call family… He felt ashamed that there were small moments in where he forgot about Konoha. His home, and the promises he made to Ero-Sennin

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

_Lightning shrouded hand and wind coated kunai clash. Two figures dash across the field at high speed. They stop as they find themselves in opposite sites facing each other._

"_You've grown well, Naruto" Says a silver haired cyclops. Doing a particular gesture with his eye that seemed to take the shape of a smile._

_Naruto lets out a blinding smile; "Thanks, Jiraiya may be an old pervert, but he's a great teacher"_

"_Oh is that so" A new voice says. Naruto feels his hair being ruffled roughly by a large hand. "While I appreciate you recognizing my awesome talents, I don't appreciate being called a pervert boy, after all…"_

_Naruto rolls his eyes and sighs; "Here we go"_

"…_I'm a **super-pervert**!" He finishes with a haughty laugh._

_For all his efforts, the blond can't help but chuckle, his younger teaching joining him. The Jinchuuriki looks at both men who had been such strong influences on his life. His father's teacher and his student, both who would become his own teachers in time. He was part of legacy, one started by the First and Second Hokage themselves when they had first trained the Old Man Sandaime, the closest thing he ever had to a grandfather figure, who in turned had trained Jiraiya._

_It was a legacy of Konoha, one who embodied the ideals the village stood for. He promised he would do anything to live up to them. And to one day inherit his master's will._

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sometimes it pained him, but he knew he had to return. He left too many promises unfulfilled. People he had to protect… it had already been two years and yet he still hadn't found a way back, not even with Master Makarov's help. Regardless, he had to keep trying. He would always treasure this Guild and this people in his heart, but his duty laid with Konoha, with a promise he had made to his godfather.


	3. First mission with a dose of insanity

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

A/N: Naruto's skills for those wanting a summary: Uzu no Kaze (Wind of the whirlpool) mixed martial arts form of (Meotode / Muay Thai / Piguaquanobe). Uzu no Ryu (Dragon of the Whirlpool) the blond's Kenjutsu. A free-form mixed with Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

(Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu is from Samurai X/Rurouni Kenshin which belongs to Nobuhiro Watsuki)

Expert level Fūinjutsu

Knows Fūton, Katon, and Raiton; (Wind, Fire, &amp; Lightning Release)

Uzu no Kaze: Custom created Taijutsu by Naruto with Jiraiya's help during the 3yr training trip. The late Toad Sage also taught Naruto Fūinjutsu, Wind &amp; Fire Release.

Uzu no Ryu: A sacred Uzumaki kenjutsu scroll left by his mother Kushina Uzumaki. Kakashi helped him learn along with teaching Lightning release.

Shinobi rank before landing in Earthland: Chūnin

(Mixed Martial Arts form all thanks to 'cradereric'. Meotode, Muay Thai, Piguaquanobe thanks to Godospartan the Kitsune)

Chapter 3: First mission, with a dose of insanity.

Through the silk rose colored curtains of the window, morning light begins gently seeping into the darken bedroom. Slowly the warm rays of sunlight soon land on the queen size bed in the room. Feeling the sudden warmth a single midnight blue eye reveals itself.

With small groan, a half sleep addled Mirajane slowly sits up. Her creamy rose thick bed sheet falling to her lap her black lace spaghetti strapped gown comes to view as she blankly looks around her room. The room itself is fairly decorated as one would expect of young woman.

From the rose covered walls and ceiling, two elegant hardwood dressers with several pictures on the top of one and stuffed animals on the other. Near the door is a desk with a medium size mirror attached. By the bed is a small cabinet with a lamp and a few books on top.

Letting out a small cutely yawn as she rubs her eyes, slowly cognitive thought starts up as a warm sweet scent hits her nose. A gentle smile crosses her lips as the door to her room opens revealing her roommate of two years, Naruto. Walking in, wearing only his grey sweats but no shirt, secretly much to her immense pleasure, while carrying a tray of breakfast for both of them. A morning ritual the two grew to enjoy before heading to the guild.

For Mirajane, in comparing the differences of varying male body types, from to, say, Natsu's and Gray's thin wiry muscular frames. To her brother Elfman's and Nab's near bulky body builders, Naruto is a balance of in between. His frame being lean and highly athletic combined with strong broad shoulders, rock hard six pack ads, to the well cut 'V' figure most men kill for, and the blond is any living breathing woman's wet dream.

And while he is not like Gray who goes nearly completely nude out in public, Naruto really has no sense of modesty at home for which Mirajane has absolutely 'zero' problems with it.

"How do you always know when I wake up?" Mira tilts her head smiling as the Blond sits in front of her laying the tray on her lap. "Thank you." She looks down seeing two full spread plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, French toast, and two warm cups of jasmine tea on the side.

"You're welcome, and I can pretty much have you well timed all in the mornings." The blond says coyly earning a playful glare from the white haired beauty.

Taking her fork, Mirajane starts with the eggs while Naruto bites into his French toast. As the two enjoy a comfortable silence, the blond's cerulean eyes shift over to first friend since being stuck in Earthland. Mira, who had no obligation to him whatsoever, yet a week after being here she bought this two-story flat house near Kardia cathedral for both of them and even helped him understand Fiore, the guilds, and the Kingdoms.

As far as anyone knows within Fairy Tail, Konohagakure no Sato is from one of the rare wild territories not a part of any of the kingdoms. A story Naruto is firmly sticking to, cause who in their right minds would honestly believe he comes from a different reality? His sanity gets questioned enough as it is.

Lightly sipping on her tea, Mira looks over to Naruto. "So, that job looking for that lost bracelet last week was easy right foxy-kun?"

"Sure, if you call me fighting a group of dark wizards and their pet demon as easy." The blond feels his eye twitching.

"Oh come on, we did save a town from them. And I got to have that beautiful bracelet after it was all said and done," Mirajane waving off her roommate's annoyance with a calm smile.

Snorting as the blond shakes his head he finds himself also smiling; "Well I can at least say we did not damage a single building or have anyone of the towns person hurt."

The white haired beauty shrugs and nods. "Master was actually in tears shaking our hands."

_Honestly Jiji was literally dancing all over the guild like a crazed loon after hearing everything_; the blond sweatdrops. He lightly hears the fox snorting in the back of his mind. _Morning furball…_

**"Fuck you blondie."** The Kyuubi growls out while yawning.

_And thus we continue to our long 'joyous' sessions of friendship bonding_, the blond replies dryly as eats his eggs. "So a full week and everyone seems to take to Lu-chan well enough."

Mirajane gives a small smile. "Natsu-Kun has taken quite a liking to her. I think they might be good together."

"As in like a Fairy Tail team or a little romance romp in one of those cheesy novels you love to read so much?" The blond looks dryly.

Puffing her cheeks cutely, she glares over. "They're not cheesy." Naruto only chuckles at her, which soon makes Mirajane smile and giggles. She never could pretend to stay mad at her friend no matter how hard she tried.

XxX ~ Lucy ~ XxX

Letting out a highly content sigh as the hot bath water soaks her skin, Lucy can't help but smile. It has been a week since joining Fairy Tail, and she has been having the time of her life. And with the help of Naruto and Mirajane, she found a lovely two story home close to the market district, which the buxom blond loves due to her love of shopping.

And while the rent is a touch expensive, being 70,000 jewels, the steep price is well worth it given the homey décor inside. Each room being rather quite spacious for welcomed guests, plus with plenty of closets for storage. A quaint looking fireplace, along with a retro style stove, pure white walls, scents of wood, she was fully in love with this house.

Lifting her arms above her head she stretches as she gets out of the water. Reaching a towel to dry her, Lucy lightly hums a soft tune. I really have to thank Naruto-Kun and Mira-Chan for helping getting me settled into Magnolia.

Slowly her bright tune stops as her expression turns solemn, remembering her talk with Mirajane and the master after Macao woke up.

XxX ~ a week prior ~ XxX

_Sitting on her bar stool, Lucy keeps her eye on Naruto and Natsu laughing beside Macao and Wakaba at a nearby table with Romeo playing with Happy. Cleaning a glass mug with a cloth Mirajane notices the buxom blond's gaze. _

_"What's on your mind Lu-Chan?"_

_Blinking, the celestial wizard looks back to Mira. "Why were Naruto and Natsu really so gun ho about helping finding Macao for Romeo-Kun?"_

_As sad smile crossed Mira's lips while Makarov opens an eye. "A simple question to ask my dear. But both with very complex answers."_

_Lucy looks at the master in confusion as Mirajane takes over. "You see, for Natsu, I think he saw himself in Romeo-kun. See a few years ago Natsu's Tou-san left and hasn't come back. Well, I should say foster father. Natsu was raised by dragon." Mirajane smiles while Lucy's jaw drops, while also falling off her stool._

_Slowly sitting back up on her stool the blond looks at the two in disbelief; "He was raised by an actual real life dragon!"_

_Makarov grunts in affirmation. "Should have seen the whole guild's expression when he said that when first arriving."_

_"He was found in a forest by the dragon as a baby. The dragon raised him as his own son learning everything from culture, language, and magic." Mira's midnight blue eyes soon took a sad tint to them; "But then one day the dragon disappeared leaving only that scaled white scarf behind. Natsu has been looking for him ever since."_

_Looking down at her glass water, Lucy gazes at the small reflection of herself mournfully. "So that's Igneel. He must really love him to be searching for him all these years."_

_"As for our self-proclaimed ninja. Naruto is also an orphan, but he had no one to help him." Makarov speaks quietly. _

_Shooting up her head Lucy looks to the guild master not seeing Mirajane eyes quiver some. _

_"From what little he told us his parents were murdered hours after he was born. But he never explained why nor why the village he once lived never properly cared for him." The old wizard grumbles with light frustration._

_Lucy gasps covering her mouth hearing on the fate of Naruto's parents. '_He was just born and someone murdered his parents, why!?'

_"You forgot master. When he was twelve he was taken in by someone. Think her name was Tsunade if I recall." Mira looks over to Makarov who only grunts. "And that one man who he saw as his grandfather, Hiruzen Sarutobi if I remember right." _

_The old master shakes his head; "But that Hiruzen fellow never took him in and raised him. Honestly I have more questions than answers when dealing with Naruto." _

_Looking at the two Lucy shifts her head back to Naruto who is now playing with Romeo. Mirajane also looks over; "We… All of us wizards, and one ninja of Fairy Tail… Carry wounds, deep wounds that leave only scars in our hearts." She paused for moment before adding quietly; "Even me as well…"_

_"Huh?" _

_"Nothing."_

XxX ~ present ~ XxX

Shaking her head, Lucy takes a deep breath. "I can't be moping. I'll help them however I can, it's the least I can do for being so nice to me." Her eyes widen. "Oh, I almost forgot. I need to make a contract with my new celestial spirit."

Standing as she wraps a towel around her naked body, she walks into her bedroom. Her bright smile soon becomes her jaw dropping and her eyes popping out.

The reason for this is Natsu lazily lounging on her chair with a bag chips in hand and Happy eating a fish on her coffee table.

"Yo-GAH," The dragon slayer smirks before both him and Happy feeling intense pain from a perfect roundhouse kick to the wall courtesy of Lucy.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Though a kick to the face was probably not going to allow anyone to answer right away.

Groaning as he sits up on the floor, while Happy is still in Lah, Lah land, Natsu looks up to an irate blond; "Mira told me you got a new house." The rosette haired man absently rubs his cheek, damn she could hit hard!

"She told you, so what?! So does that mean you can come in like that?!" Lucy huffs crossing her arms under her bust. "Do you have any sense of morals!? This is what we call trespassing genius! A KNOWN FELONY CALLED BREAKING AND ENTERING!"

Natsu sweatdrops. "Now you're just hurting my feelings…"

"I'm the one being violated here you jack-ass~!" Her ears soon twitch hearing the sound… Scratching! Sharply turning her head she sees in absolute horror, Happy clawing at her lovely new wall!

"I like the new place Lucy." The cat remarks absently.

"Let's try to keep it that way! Don't use my wall as scratching post you stupid furball!"

Looking over at the desk, Natsu lifts an eyebrow at a stack of papers "What is this?" Before he could even blink the said papers are snatched from his hand as Lucy hugs them tightly to her chest for dear life.

The dragon-slayer tilts his head. "So what is that?"

"It's nothing! Just go home!" Lucy nearly whines out.

A goofy grin sets on Natsu's lips. "Aw come on, your place is way cooler than mine. And I came to visit, I just got here."

"I hate boys!" Though the questionable maturity part of the statement never really hitting Natsu, making Lucy's point and case clear as day.

Both freeze hearing a knocking at the front door.

Lightly mumbling 'what now' Lucy leaves the room putting the papers on the shelf in the hall. "Don't touch anything!" Walking down the stairs rubbing her eyes the blond stops and opens the door. "Yes?" whatever anger she had in her system with Natsu vanished in an instant being replaced by embarrassment seeing Naruto and Mirajane at her door.

"Oh my." The white haired beauty lightly covers her mouth with a faint blush.

Naruto smirks. "Why Lu-Chan, you're going to third base before even making it to first. Rather bold, dattebayo."

Seeing her fellow blond receiving a sharp elbow from Mirajane to the stomach, Lucy looks down. She shrieks seeing her towel had fallen off lying on the ground giving her two new friends a prime view at the body the gods have blessed her with.

_Hmm, so she is a natural blond,_ Naruto thinks absently before Mira's other hand covers his eyes. "OI!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As Mirajane prepares tea for everyone, due simply to the fact a now fully dressed and heavily blushing Lucy sits quietly at her table from sheer embarrassment, she kept an eye on the room. To her right sits Naruto, still smirking while Natsu laughing in his own chair. Coming back into the dining room with a small tray Mira puts down four cups of tea.

"Here we go!" Placing the tray in the center of the table, Mira sits in the last open seat while Happy sits on Naruto's shoulder eating a fish.

_I can't believe this! Naruto and Mira both saw me naked! _Was it possible to die from embarrassment?

"So Lu-Chan, how many spirit contracts do you have?" Speaking of the other blonde in the room...

Shaking out of her internal depression from hearing Naruto's question, she takes the ring off her belt. "I have six contracts." First placing three of her silver keys on the table with one the image of a clock, next a southern cross, and finally a Lyre; "With silver keys you can find any of them anywhere in the markets. I have Horologium the clock, Crux the southern cross, and Lyra the lyre."

"Met Lyra once from another celestial wizard, a real sweetheart that one." Naruto speaks up.

Lucy beams. "She always does have the right song to cheer you up." Next she places three golden keys each with a sign of the zodiac. "Now the golden keys of the Zodiac are very rare to find. The ones I have are Taurus the golden bull, Aquarius the water bearer, and Cancer the giant crab."

"A GIANT CRAB!" Both Natsu and Happy smile widely while lightly drooling.

Naruto face-palms while Mirajane giggles; _Chouji would be damn proud of these two…_

_**So says the idiot blondie with a ramen addiction**_, Kyuubi absently thinks to himself.

Lucy sweat drops; "I swear you two are so completely random, and absolutely obsessed with food."

"Trust me, they just think with their stomachs mostly every day." Naruto snorts.

Mira nods; "Very true."

Sighing, while shaking her head, Lucy stops as she remembers something. "I almost forgot! Again! I need to make a contract with the Canis Minor Nicola Naruto-Kun bought for me in Hargeon" The buxom blond winks. "You guys want to see how a celestial wizard and spirit make a contract?"

"HELL YEAH!" Natsu smiles brightly. Neither him nor Lucy seeing a look crossing Mirajane's eyes peering over to Naruto.

"You bought her a gate key?"

"The old man owning that shop had trumped up the price, but since I had the jewels and she wanted it, so I bought it. How we first met, besides, not like I am going to run out of jewels." The blond smiles crossing his arms while mentally hiding his pure embarrassment.

He hears the old fox snorts. **"Old perverted Ningen had some uses."**

_Not… One… Word…_

Mirajane lifts an eyebrow; her roommate did speak the truth when saying he did not have to worry about money four months after when he first showed up two years ago. But what annoys her is he never tells her how he is making all that money yet still takes jobs simply for fun or helping people in need.

"What if a contract involves blood seals?!"

Both Naruto and Mira look at Happy oddly as he flies around, while Natsu lifts an eyebrow. "Butt seals? Those sound damn painful."

Lucy sweatdrops while Naruto bursts out laughing with Mirajane giggling. "Leave my ass out of this thank you? And no there are not any blood seals or anything like that. Just watch."

Getting out of her seat Lucy walks over to her bookshelf. Finding the dark blue case she wants, she slides open the top revealing the silver key. Everyone watches as Lucy turns around extending the key in her hand.

"I call upon thee, in the world of the celestial spirits! I beckon you at my side at once! Pass through the gate!" Light soon shines under Lucy's feet as everyone see an outline of keyhole appear in front of her.

**Open gate of Canis Minor: Nicola**!

From the keyhole golden light seeps out and soon combines into a small sphere. What appears next make Mira blink while the boys –Kyuubi included- jaws drops. A snow white creature being the height of Happy soon plops on the floor. It has small beady eyes and a golden horned nose which looks like a carrot, its small body shaking as if nervous.

"Puunn~!"

_PUUNN!?_ This coming from two dumbstruck men and one cat.

"Nice try." Natsu and Happy say together.

"D… Don't feel too bad Lu-Chan." Naruto says weakly.

"Oh shut up, I meant to do that!" Lucy huffs.

The blond Sennin feels eye twitching in disbelief; _it's supposed to look like that?_

**"Still trying to figure out what the damn thing is."** Kyuubi gives his two cents.

As for the second female in the room, Mirajane soon clasp her hand together; "KAWAII~!"

Lucy beams nearly squealing brightly sitting on floor with her knees hugging her new spirit friend; "I know right!"

Naruto, Natsu, and Happy soon face fault to the ground. Of course Mira and Lucy would find the damn thing cute.

"Nicola spirits hardly take much in summoning, so most people keep them as pets." The celestial wizard explains absently with Mirajane sits beside her now petting the little spirit's head while cooing.

"You know this whole pet thing don't sit well with me..." Happy whispers to Natsu out loud.

"Especially with a strange master like Lucia." The dragon slayer whispers out loud back.

Lucy's eye twitches while Naruto looks at the two dryly. "She can hear you two you know?"

"And for the last time my name of Lucy!" Letting go of her new celestial spirit friend as Mira now hugging the Nicola spirit in her arms. Grabbing a small notebook and pen the celestial wizard goes to work. "So, are you free Monday?"

"Puuun~." The Nicola spirit shakes its-his/her-whatever's head.

The buxom blond goes down each day of the week as Naruto, Natsu, and Happy just gawk. "This is a bit more tedious than I thought dattebayo." The young Sennin whispers.

"Got that right..." Natsu whispers back while getting an 'aye' from Happy.

Closing her little notebook Lucy smiles brightly; "Okay, contract all done!"

The little spirit jumps out of Mira's arms with a wide grin. "Pupuun~!"

Both ladies giggle as Natsu scratches his head with Happy on his shoulder. "Well that was easy?"

Naruto helps both ladies up with the buxom blond wagging her finger. "It may seem easy but it very important. You see a celestial wizard's contract relies on the promise between the spirit and the wizard."

"Hmm, that makes sense, helps build trust right?" Naruto looks to his new friend who winks at him.

"Very good, this is why I make it a point to never break a promise! Got it?"

Natsu looks at Lucy dryly. "Oh yeah…"

"As Foxy-Kun said, for celestial wizards to do their craft they need to build trust with the beings they summon. Like how people make bonds of friendships with other people." Mira's academic side coming out again as she smiles to Natsu.

Crossing his arms the fire dragon-slayer absently nods smirking. "That sounds cool!"

Naruto only chuckles while Mirajane lightly giggles at their dragon slayer friend. Beside them, Lucy taps her chin in thought. "Now what to name you…"

"Isn't it Nicola?" Happy asks on Naruto's shoulder. The little feline basically asking the same unified thought among Mira, Naruto, and Natsu.

Shakes her head the buxom blond looks back over to her friends. "No, that's the name of the species." Her brown eyes brighten. "OH, I know! Come here Plue~!"

The wobbly little spirit now known as Plue looks running up into Lucy's arms as she kneels back down holding him again. "Plue huh?" Naruto, Natsu, and Happy saying the same thought out loud.

"It's so cute~!" Mira squeals making Naruto sigh tiredly. _This had to be one of those woman things Ero-Sennin went on about. _

"I know right, it's like the cutest name ever! Right little Plue?" she hugs her new little spirit who waves his arms cheerfully.

"So, even though his sign is the little doggy he doesn't bark? That's kinda weird." Happy speaking up tilting his head.

Naruto looks over dryly. "Well for the two years being in Fairy Tail, I have not heard you once go 'MEOW~'!"

Seeing the blond Uzumaki acting like a cat sends both ladies into a small fit of giggles. Feeling Plue squirm out of her hands soon everyone watches as he dances oddly while muttering something in front of Natsu.

"What's he doing?" Lucy's open question gaining a shrug from Naruto and Mira. Natsu kneels down beside the little spirit.

"Aw, man! You are right about that Plue!" The dragon slayer giving the thumbs up with the little spirit mimicking him with big wide smile.

"YOU CAN UNDERSTAND HIM?!" Both Naruto and Lucy gawk while the Kyuubi face-palms.

_**Takes an idiot to understand an idiot…**_

Natsu nods. "Lucy did help us rescuing Macao and those other guys. She might be a weirdo, but she is a good person!"

"I'm the weirdo?" The buxom blond's eye twitches.

Both Naruto and Mirajane simply look at each other dryly. Standing to his feet the dragon slayer soon shows determined grin that slightly unnerves Lucy. _Why is he staring at me? Lord he is so weird!_

"I've made up my mind. Plue gave me one hell of a plan."

_Again how did he understand him?_ Both blonds deadpan.

"Let's make a team!" The dragon slayer smiles brightly.

"The team?" Happy says jumping onto Natsu's shoulder.

Lucy tilts her head curiously while Naruto crosses his arms lifting and eyebrow looking over at Mirajane who only shrugs at him. "So you want to form a team like Naruto-Kun and Mira-Chan?"

"Aye, and with a team the payout can be bigger if the job is more difficult!" Happy speaks while munching on a fish on Natsu's shoulder.

Clasping her hands together, Lucy shows a bright radiant smile. "That sounds awesome; it should be fun!"

"WE HAVE A TEAM~!" Natsu nearly roars raising both his fists above his head.

"Aye sir...~" Happy cheers dancing alongside with Plue on the table.

"Contract signed and seal." Lucy giggles lightly blushing looking to Natsu. _He can be so random but looks like he does accept me._

"Okay team, let's get to work." Natsu smiles as he pulls out a piece of paper. A suspicious gleam showing in both Naruto's and Mira's narrowing eyes. "I have our first mission right here."

Literally bouncing on her feet Lucy can't stop smiling. "This is happening so fast." She takes the paper from Natsu's hand, not seeing an evil smirk on his lips. "Let's see what you have."

However, that smirk from Natsu is not lost on Naruto and Mirajane who look dryly at each other.

"Shiro-Tsume Town, that not far from here… You're kidding?! All we have to do is take a book from a mansion of some guy named Duke Everlue?" Lucy's eyes widen. "And it's for 200,000 Jewel!" However she soon freezes when seeing a small warning disclaimer.

"It should be a piece of cake right?" Natsu grins crossing his arms.

Snatching the paper out of his fellow blond's hands. Naruto skims the paper seeing a sketch of a heavy set man in a business suit but with an odd large button. It made his skin crawl seeing the man sticking his tongue – like a certain snake he knew- out playing with his mustache with an ugly come over hair.

"Warning; Duke Everlue is an outright perverted womanizer. 'Who' is currently looking for young women with 'blond' hair..." The Sennin sighs in exasperation.

Mirajane crosses her arms under her bust glaring lightly over at the Dragon Slayer. "Honestly Natsu, that's just mean."

"But Mira~ I picked this because I knew it would be a piece of cake, I promise!" Natsu pouts while everyone hearing an 'Aye' from Happy. "Plus Lucy said Celestial Wizards never break their promises."

"But you were trying to trick me!" Lucy yells waving her arms.

Rubbing his eyes Naruto groans as he dryly looks back to the paper. "I had planned on doing this one myself."

"You were planning on using that 'Henge' of yours?" Mira says with a serious glare.

Mira's question made Lucy look to fellow blond curiously; "Henge?"

"It's a jutsu that lets me take the form of any person, animal, or even an object. It comes in handy if I want to sneak into a place while out in the open." Naruto speaks absently with a cheerful smile.

_Is that one of those weird ninja skills of his?_ Lucy wonders as sees Naruto put his hand together.

"Just watch, _**Henge**_." A puff of smoke soon covers the young Sennin which makes Lucy lightly jumps. But soon her jaw nearly drops seeing an exact twin of Mirajane smiling as warmly as the original.

"Well, what do you think?" Both Mira's say in unison.

_HE EVEN HAS HER VOICE!_ Lucy continues to gawks as Naruto dispels the jutsu returning to his old self crossing his arms with a smug smile.

Mira giggles. "I better get going to the guild. Naruto I know will be helping out."

"Why, your already at the guild, so you're coming along too dattebayo," Naruto smirks.

Everyone is silent for a moment before looking right at the blond Sennin. "Huh?!"

XxX ~ Fairy Tail ~ XxX

With one eye open, and sitting at his usual spot at the top of the bar, Makarov watches a smiling 'Mirajane' humming a tune while fixing an order. Feeling a familiar gaze on 'her', midnight blue eyes shift the guild master which she gives a very Naruto-like wink.

Makarov mentally snorts; _Honestly… While I appreciate Naruto giving Mirajane time off working at the bar so much. I will never get how well he can mimic her in that 'henge' jutsu of his._

"Huh, someone took the job for Duke Everlue?"

Gazing over, both Makarov and 'Mirajane' seeing Levy at the request board. Standing behind her, are the other two members of 'Shadow Gear', Jet and Droy. Jet being a slim young man of 18, with orange hair, wearing an open brown coat, with fur lining, a strange top hat with mid-wide brim and purple shirt underneath with an open collar, and black baggy pants tucking into his boots.

The last member of 'Shadow Gear' being Droy. A tall, slim young man with black hair kept in an unusual hairstyle, with a tuft of hair on top of his head. Wearing a white shirt and checkered green pants and sleek shoes. Over his shirt are two yellow belts crossing his chest.

Levy sighs; "Did somebody take it already? That stinks."

"It was Natsu I believe who took it." 'Mirajane' smiles. _Glad boss made a Kage bunshin and dispel it letting me know what's going on._

Peering dryly Levy looks over; "Why I am not surprised."

"Levy, I think it is best that perhaps you did not take that job." Makarov gaining Shadow Gears attention. "I got word from the client not long ago, and this job may be more trouble than it's worth."

'Mirajane' tilts her head cutely over to the master; "Was the job cancelled master?"

Chuckling the old master shook his head; "On the contrary Mira, the reward was raised to 2 million jewels."

Everyone within an ear shot freezes, gawking over at the master. "2 million jewels!" Levy and her team yell in unison.

"What the hell, just for one stupid book?" Droy looks to his group/friends. "That's like monster slaying reward money."

'Mirajane' nearly drops her glass before shaking her head. _Then it is a damn good thing boss and Mira-Chan are going with them dattebayo._

As most of guild was still talking in shock of the news, a shirtless Gray who sitting leaning his back to a table smirks with cigarette in his mouth. He smirks; "Now this just got interesting."

"Oh Gray, nice skivvies."

Blinking in confusion to 'Mira's' words he looks down jumping out of his seat. "WHERE THE HELL ARE MY JEANS!?"

'Mirajane/Kage-Bunshin Henged Naruto' mentally chuckles. _This guy is too easy..._

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Wh… Why did you turn off the seal..?" A certain pink haired fire mage asks

"Because you tried to trick Lu-Chan into this job dattebayo." the blonde ninja of the group clearly pointed out with amusement at Natsu's punishment.

"UGH…."

Despite showing surprise, Lucy, now wearing Spaghetti strapped pink shirt and black plated skirt, with her keys and whip attached to her belt, could not stop giggling at the sight on the carriage ride to Shiro-Tsume. Sprawled haplessly on the floor of the said carriage is Natsu with his severe motion sickness on full throttle. For which the poor man endures relentless teasing from the buxom blond.

Payback is a bitch, and Lucy is giving it in spades.

"Are you enjoying your carriage ride today master? Anything I can get for you?" The overly sweet playful voice of Lucy only making Naruto laugh harder at Natsu's sorrows.

"I can see the gates of hell..." Natsu groans, his stomach doing somersaults.

"Hey, I'm supposed to play the part of the master, so I should be the one giving the orders!" Happy whines in Mirajane's lap.

"Oh shut it you stupid feline." Lucy mumbles shaking her head.

Naruto calms himself enough looking to his best friend and roommate. "See Mira-Chan, it would have been dull if only I went with them."

Sighing with a smile Mira shakes her head; "You got a point." She giggles watching Natsu slowly sit back in his seat beside Naruto. "Besides you did bring this on yourself Natsu-Kun."

Letting out a small whine, Natsu weakly bows his head to Lucy. "I am very sorry Lucy, please forgive me."

Tilting her head to the side, tapping her chin, the celestial wizard pretends to thinks before finally smiling; "Oh I suppose~. You're forgiven."

**Fūin**…

Seeing a light blue glow from behind Natsu's neck, Lucy double takes at the dragon slayer's motion sickness vanishes within seconds. Taking a big sigh of relief Natsu relaxes leaning back on the seat. Mira lightly chuckles before looking over to Lucy.

"So, ready for your first big job?"

The buxom blond nods to Mira. "Now thinking on it, this job should be easy."

"Despite the fact being nearly suckered into it by dumbass here." Naruto comments dryly getting middle fingered from Natsu. "Sorry my man, but do not enjoy a ram jam."

Lucy covers her mouth blushing. Mira only looks wide eyes while lightly blushing. "Naruto!"

Natsu only tilts his head along with Happy. "What's a ram jam?"

That only makes Lucy finally lose it, laughing out loud with Naruto soon joining in. Mira finally follows in seeing lastly how confused Natsu is from the Sennin's innuendo comment.

Calming down after a few minutes Lucy looks to Naruto smiling; "As Mira-Chan said; this is my first job. So I will give it my all." The blond soon pauses for a minute. "Say Natsu. Why did you want me to be in a team with you?"

"Simple, you're a really nice person." The fire dragon slayer crosses his arms nodding to himself.

_Whoa, did this guy just compliment me?_ A faint blush crosses Lucy's cheeks.

A hidden sly look of victory crosses Mira's eyes over to Naruto who rolls his. Lucy lightly beams; "Alright so all I have to do is sneak inside a mansion for some book."

"A mansion belonging to a fat pervert-Jiji." Natsu and Naruto say in unison.

Crossing her arms under her bust, Lucy leans forward accentuating her breasts; "Think I can handle a little fat old pervert." The buxom blond lightly purrs.

Natsu just blinks blankly while Happy eats a fish. "Yeah I can't tell you humans apart."

The buxom blond slumps till getting thumbs up from Naruto made Lucy smile. Though for some reason Mira's eyes lightly twitches seeing a faint blush upon the blond Sennin's cheeks.

XxX ~ Shiro-Tsume ~ XxX

Lucy and Mirajane both smile brightly getting out of the carriage seeing the outskirts of Shiro-Tsume Town which is built along a mountain side. While being so small it also was not connected to the railway system, the reason the group had to go by carriage.

Still, the place is a bustle of commerce, giving it a lively upbeat atmosphere.

Natsu smirks. "Now we're here. Let's go get something to eat." Prompting an 'aye' from his little blue feline companion.

Naruto deadpans at the dragon slayer, while Mira simply sighs shaking her head. Those two really do have one track mind, granted Naruto knew he was just as bad when he was a kid, but Natsu was nearly twenty years old for heaven's sake.

So what the hell is his excuse?

"I'm not really hungry… Say, why don't just eat your own fire?" Lucy asks looking around.

Natsu deadpans over in her direction; "That Tarsus spirit of yours, you said he is a bull right? Would you cut him up and make steaks out of him?"

A look of horror comes over Lucy's face. "I could never do that!"

"Well it's kind of the same principle." The dragon slayer mumbles looking for a place to eat.

"Now that has to be a pain right? You can eat any kind of fire but your own?" Lucy sighs with her hands on her hips.

A chuckle comes from Naruto; "Natsu, go look for some food. I'll go look for information on this Duke Everlue guy. Look after them Mira-Chan."

"Be careful foxy~." Mirajane turns to her friend, but the blond waves it off.

"This is me we're talking about, what could happen?" Naruto smirks before using shunshin and vanishing. Not seeing Mira looking dryly where he was.

"That's what worries me..." Mira mumbles, her hands on her hips.

Lucy lightly giggles. "Well I am going to look around town. Want to join me Mira-Chan?" The buxom blond looks over to the white haired beauty.

Mira nods. "Sure, Natsu-Kun, Happy, you guys go find some food and stay out of trouble okay?"

The rosette haired man waves walking off to the nearest restaurant in town.

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

Appearing vis shunshin, well hidden on a large branch up in a tree Naruto sets his gaze forward. His target being the main reasons him and his friends being in this town. And the first thought in Naruto's head when seeing Everlue mansion.

_What does one old fat pervert need with a place this fucking big dattebayo?!_

A massive but compact three stories brick mansion with a patio roof, a medium size garden around that with a large brick square fence with metal railing at the top and durable metal doors. From everything the blond can see, it is finely crafted and was spared no expense in its design.

The Sennin could admit the place looks sharp but still too damn gaudy for his tastes.

Naruto really had to thank Jiraiya and Kakashi for quite literally pounding common sense into his thick skull. Shadowing himself throughout town the blond learned as much about Duke Everlue as he could get. Being that Shiro-Tsume town is so small it is ruled by feudalistic means.

This makes Everlue the top dog in this town, and his slimy little fingers in a lot of people's pockets. Whether that is through legal means, through threats, or under the table dealings. And while Everlue is smart enough to keep the Kingdom from finding out, he is not clever enough to hide it from a professional ninja.

**"Surprised you haven't busted down that flimsy little metal gate brat."** The old fox chiming in.

_It's really tempting, given what I learned about Sir Duke Douche bag. But this is Lu-Chan's first job, plus as a team now with Natsu, I think Mira would agree she wants to see how this goes just like I do. Besides, once the job is done I will gladly report his fat ass to the legion stationed here._

He hears the Kyuubi snorts. **"Impressed you actually learn 'tact' from those two fools."**

An eye twitch and light growl from Naruto's throat was unheard before he was taking a deep calming breath; _I can admit freely not being the sharpest kunai in the drawer, furball. But would you rather prefer I still acted like I did back when I was twelve?_

Point taken, while the old fox still hated the kid's guts, he did have a very small sliver of respect for how strong the brat got after fighting that wretched little Uchiha. Guess nearly getting killed twice by your supposed 'best friend' woke up his container some.

_Better head back to the others and meet the client for this thing. Still, all the trouble for one damn book. _

_**You'd be surprised kit on how it is the tiniest of things can cause powerful reactions.**_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Be sure to save the fat and oily stuff for Lucy." Natsu talks while devouring a large cooked meat on a bone.

Finding a good size restaurant with an outside lounge, both the dragon slayer and talking blue feline gouge themselves into a massive feast. Happy nods munching on a fish. "Aye, that does seem to be what she likes."

"Excuse me, since when do I like fat and oily food?" Speaking of the celestial wizard...

Whatever words Natsu and Happy were going to say died in their throats, as their jaws drops looking to their right. Winking, Lucy is fully decked out in a maid outfit with her hair now in twin pigtails. Beside her Mira only giggles seeing Natsu's and Happy's reaction.

The outfit in the former 'S' class wizard's opinion looks quite cute on her new friend. A very elegant business white puffy short-sleeve button shirt, with a black button up sleeveless vest, a black frilly short skirt, with a white apron over it, long white stockings, and high black heels.

"How is your meal Natsu-Sama~." Lucy coos with her hands behind her back seductively swaying slightly from side to side. "Do you require any more food Natsu-Sama, if so, I will get you anything you want~"

A shiver runs down the fire dragon slayer's spine as he robotically turns his head to an equally shocked Happy. "We were just kidding about the whole maid thing right?"

"Aye, I think she took it a bit too seriously." The blue cat says weakly.

Despite their attempt in whispering, it fails miserably with both Mira and Lucy looking dryly at the two. "We can hear you." Both say in unison.

"Mou~ and here I got all dressed up~"

A soft, feminine melodic voice with a seductive tone catches everyone's attention behind Mirajane. Eyes travel as Mira turns to a sight making Lucy and even Natsu blush wildly.

Rivaling Cana in height, but having curves even the beautiful fortune teller would be highly envious of, a bust even Lucy feels somewhat very self-consciously jealous over. Wearing a red buttoned princess dress with a black vest, red stockings one her long shapely legs with black heels. Her long sun kissed blond hair dual twin tails, her cerulean eyes and smile showing nothing but pure mischief with a hand on her gorgeous hip.

It takes full minute for Lucy to regain her speech; "Um, wh… Who are you?"

A cute pout forms on the tall buxom blond's lips; "Oh that is so mean Lu-Chan. But then again you're not looking at the right spot." Lifting a delicate finger to her cheek; Lucy's eyes bulge when seeing familiar whisker marks.

"NA… NARUTO..!"

"Actually it's Naruko in this Henge form." Mirajane explains as she giggles seeing her friend's jaws drop. "Would you be surprised Naruto is an actual full woman in this Henge form?"

_Okay, this is so not fair, Naruto as a guy is a total hottie, but his female version is too?! Hell her boobs are bigger than mine..._ Lucy mentally whines slumping her shoulders.

However only horror is on Natsu's face. "I just thought Naruto was hot!"

Naruko only giggles. "Silly, Mira-Chan did say I am a real female in this form. I worked very hard getting Naruko-Chan as real as possible. So right now Natsu-Kun I appreciate the compliment."

"Uh… Sure… No problem." The dragon slayer weakly replies still quite visibly pale. Everyone hears an 'aye sir' from an equally dazed Happy.

Naruko would have kept smirking at the two if a pair of small delicate hands latched onto her breasts, making her let out a deep throated moan. "L… Lu-Chan, AH, you being too rough!"

So bold, Mira blinks lightly blushing while Natsu's and Happy's jaws drop seeing Lucy opening fondling Naruko's boobs. "Why are these things bigger than mine?! Hell, their firmer to, this is not fair!" Lucy whines while pouting.

No one was really paying much attention to the crowd gawking at one young lady groping another woman's bosom.

XxX ~ and then ~ XxX

Finally having to dispel back to his male form, just so Lucy would stop playing with Naruko's breasts, the group makes their way to the client's home for the job details. Although the buxom blond could not shrink any further under Naruto's mild glare. While the last three could not stop snickering.

"Lucy is a perv~!" Happy floats around Natsu.

"I am not a perv! It's called a lapse of sanity!" The buxom blond growls looking at the cat sharply.

_**Is that what ningen call it these days?**_ Kyuubi thinks dryly.

Naruto grumbles as Mirajane waves it off; "Oh, your fine. Anyway let's focus on the job."

"Yeah sure, Naruko-Chan gets felt up and we walk it off." The blond Uzumaki mumbles out loud.

"You are Naruko-Chan." Everyone else answers in response.

"That is beside the point, Dattebayo!"

Natsu points ahead, ignoring the girls laughing the young Sennin's ranting. "Hey there is a mansion up ahead."

Stopping the group sees a rather classy looking, modest size two-story mansion. Not overly flashy like Everlue's or some of the more snobbish Daimyos back in his own world. Walking up to the front double doors Natsu knocks gingerly.

"This place is beautiful. Is this Duke Everlue's mansion?" Lucy whispers to Naruto who stands beside her and Mira.

"No, this is the client's." Mira responses looking over.

Lucy shrugs slightly nodding; "Makes sense, with anyone willing to pay out 200,000 Jewels they have to be rich."

A soft voice from behind the door snaps their attention; "May I ask who this is?"

"We're from Fairy Tail abou-." Natsu answers till cut off by the voice.

"SHH! Please lower your voice! May you please enter around to the back door? Thank you."

Deadpanning the blond Uzumaki looks over to Mira who lifts an eyebrow at him. "Now that is a little weird," Both comment in perfect sync.

Lucy just tilts her head in confusion along with Natsu; _Okay…~_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The interior inside the mansion while expensive looking, it is far more classy than gaudy. It is quite easy on the eyes in Naruto's opinion. In the center of the main hall the group is greeted by a tall man, in his fifties, in a good but rather slightly rough green suite with short gray hair and a small mustache.

Beside him is the blond Uzumaki assumes is the man's wife is an average height with fair skin, and brown hair curled at the end. The woman wears a aged but elegant pink shirt, a skirt, and a simple green necklace. The man gestures for everyone to take a seat in the study room's two large couches.

"I apologize for earlier, I am the client Kaby Melon. This is my wife, Marie." The older gentle states with calm smile.

"MELON!" Happy drools on Naruto's shoulder.

"You have a really tasty name." Natsu laughs.

Naruto face palms while Mirajane only sighs. "Natsu, that was rude," Lucy chides at the dragon slayer.

Waving it off Kaby only laughs; "Its fine my dear. I am quite use to it by now."

_Hmm, where have I heard that name before?_ Mira thinks absently tapping her chin.

"I feel quite honored that members of Fairy Tail accepted my job. The renown rumors from your guild precedes you well."

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Naruto chuckles; "Thanks."

_People have been cautious of this job since the reward is so high for something so simple._ Lucy thinks quietly looking at her friends.

"And you're all so young too. May I acquire your names?" Kirby asks taking tea from Marie as she sets some down for the others.

"Name is Naruto Uzumaki, this is Mirajane Strauss. My fellow blond is Lucy, the furball is called Happy. And lastly, Natsu Dragneel." The blond Sennin provides introductions.

Kaby looks visibly surprises. "The Salamander and the demon Mirajane. Which would also make you the Sage of Fairy Tail correct lad?" Naruto nods smiling. "My, my, I am quite impressed."

Looking over Kaby tilting his head to Lucy, or rather her maid's outfit; "Is cosplay a hobby of yours young lady?"

Slumping her shoulders, Lucy whines quietly as Natsu and Happy only laughs. _I want to go home now._

"Shall we get down to business Kaby-Jiji?" Naruto grunts being elbowed by Mira.

"Ah yes, to the matter at hand. I wish for you to retrieve a book called Daybreak. There is only one copy of it. And then incinerate it."

Both Naruto and Mira widen their eyes hearing the venom when Kaby mentioned the name of the book. Lucy also gasps while Natsu lifts an eyebrow; "So we don't have to steal it then?"

Resting his elbows on his knees, Kaby leans forward; "I am basically asking you to destroy another person's property without expressed permission. It would count the same as theft Natsu-San."

Lucy tilts her head in confusion; "That's… Surprising… I had figured you wanted the book back because it was taken from you?"

"I also thought that to." Mira also speaks her mind.

"Heh, for two hundred thousand jewels I'll burn down the whole damn building if you like." Natsu smiles lifting a finger with a small flame at the tip.

"I am not going to jail with you for arson!" Lucy almost yells out.

Marie blinks tilting her head; "My husband raised the reward. Did you not know before coming here?"

"I raised it to two million jewels." Kaby finishes.

A pin could have dropped at that moment at the level of silence in the room. Soon it starts with Lucy's eyes widen, Happy's and Naruto's jaws drop, Natsu's eyes nearly bulge out from their sockets, while Mirajane only blinks.

"TWO MILLION JEWELS..!" The entire group roars.

_ALL THIS FOR A FUCKING BOOK DATTEBAYO! _

"WHAT THE HELL!" Natsu almost falls from the couch. "Two million jewels… And if we divide that by 5..? I can count that high but it would be a freaking lot of money!"

"That would be four hundred thousand jewels apiece Natsu." Mira speaks up still in small shock.

"HOLY CRAP!"

Kaby sweatdrops; "Now, now please calm down everyone."

Lucy almost robotically turns to client; "WH…Why did you raise the reward so high?!"

"For 2 million Jewels who gives a damn?" Natsu counters sitting back down.

Sighing deeply, Kaby looks to his hands. "That book must be destroyed. I cannot forgive its existence."

At those words, Naruto narrows his eyes. _What was it about what Kakashi-Sensei always said? 'Look underneath, the underneath.' Something about all of this feels really off now._

His fellow blond is also of a like mind; _He can't forgive a book's existence? _

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the group left the mansion Marie looks to her husband; "Darling, are you sure those children will be alright with this?"

Kaby smiles; "They are far from mere children my love. The Salamander and the demon of Fairy Tail are quite well respected. And I have heard many stories of the Sage; they can get the job done."

"That other guild failed last week; no doubt Duke Everlue has increased security around his mansion. Getting in will not be easy for them." Marie sighs. "I just don't want those young people hurt."

Her husband slumps forward; "I know; I know… But we must have faith in these children. I just need to remove that book, from this world."

XxX ~ Duke Everlue Mansion ~ XxX

"Excuse me~" Lucy knocks on the Everlue gate. "I have come about the maid position~?"

Not far behind a tree, Natsu leans out from behind along with Happy on his shoulder. Sitting up on a large branch, both Naruto and Mirajane watch quietly. The white haired beauty looks over to her friend.

"So why didn't you henge back into Naruko-Chan to help her?"

"Because, this is Lucy's first real job within the guild... She has to do this on her own with her teammate Natsu."

Lucy smiles slyly; _Heh… I play this old pervert right, get inside, find and destroy that book. 4 hundred thousand jewels, hehe, can cover my rent and buy myself some new clothes!_

Gazing downward to her right upon hearing cement scraping, she leaps back as it explodes. Instinctively a kunai slip into Naruto's hand from his sleeve. A large, feminine foot hits the ground cracking cement, Lucy squeaks at the towering shadow in front of her. A large muscular woman with short pink hair, dressed as a maid looks downward.

"So you're here for the maid application?" The woman's voice is deep, almost unearthly.

"Yes, ma'am..!" The buxom blond trembles

"Another to see the master, he will arrive post haste."

Close by the ground erupts again; "Boyoyo~!" Naruto cringes as the Duke Everlue himself lands beside his gorilla of a maid. "Did someone say master?!"

_More like monster!_ Lucy mentally shudders.

Placing his hand on his chin Everlue leans a little forward; "Let's see here."

The blond smiles cutely; "Well I hope you like what you see Everlue-Sama." _Oh man, he is seriously creeping me out. Now I wish Naruko-Chan was beside me right now. Stay strong Lucy!_

She soon blinks as Everlue turns around waving his hand; "I'll pass. Go home ugly."

Lucy's jaw nearly hits the floor, barely noticing the gorilla picking her up by the waist. "That's it. You heard the master. It is time to go home ugly."

"Sorry lass, but a man of my refined stature and standing can only have the best." Standing arrogantly as the ground erupts four more times behind him. "One such as me must have the fairest of the fair."

They say there are things people wish they can un-see. Right now, Naruto can feel his retinas burning at the sight of four of the ugliest women he ever seen in his life in skimpy maid uniforms. He did understand that beauty is within the eye of the beholder.

As of right now, though, the blond would rather rip out his own eyes out for Seiryū's sake.

Wrapping themselves around Everlue who smiles perversely, the four maids all coo affectionately.

"Our master is so kind~"

"Fu, fu~"

"You flatter us master~"

"You heard him ugly, go home."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

At the base of a tree, Lucy sits with her knees up to her chest back in her old clothes, as she rest her head on her knees. Sitting beside her, Mira rubs her friend's shoulders soothingly. Natsu sighs disgruntledly standing front of them, Naruto not standing far looking at the mansion with Happy on his shoulder.

"Well that sucked." The fire dragon slayer grumbles looking to the buxom blond. "You're useless."

Lucy lifts up her head crying; "It's not my fault the bastard wouldn't know beauty even if it bit him in the ass!" _You saw that gorilla woman right?!_

"Have to agree on that one dattebayo." Naruto absently agrees getting an 'aye sir' from Happy.

Punching his fist into his palm, Natsu smirks ferally; "Well that just leave good old plan 'C'."

Lucy sits up with Mira; "Damn right. Time for payback on that old pervert! Uh, what's plan 'C' by the way?"

"CHARGE!" Both Natsu and Happy roar.

Both Naruto and Mirajane sweatdrop; _oh boy…_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"That girl wasn't very bright. So Fairy Tail this time has come eh?" Sitting in a golden chair with a cigar in mouth, Everlue chuckles; "Girl was dumb enough not hiding her guild mark. They are getting smarter at least in sending someone 'actually' beautiful this time."

Behind Everlue two tall silhouettes slowly appear. "How should I kill these idiots of little fairies, Boyoyo..!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

On the roof of Everlue's mansion the group appears via shunshin. Upon letting go of the blond's shoulders both Natsu and Lucy shiver. Even when Naruto tried explained the jutsu's mechanics, but it still was so strange for both of them, since it is more or less teleporting.

Mira smiles to the blond Uzumaki; "Thank you foxy-kun."

"I could have brought some people up here myself." Happy jumps off Naruto's shoulder.

"True, but I want you to save your magic for now. You might need it later." Naruto reasons.

Looking through the glass door Natsu grumbles; "Why do we have to sneak in? This is not exactly charging in."

"Because while the kingdom may have a garrison here. Duke Everlue is the real law of Shiro-Tsume." The blond Uzumaki speaks up dryly. "Little toad has his hands in the right pockets."

"And I already told you, I am not going to rot in jail with you." Lucy walks over beside the dragon slayer.

The rosette man grunts in annoyance as Mirajane giggles. "Oh come on Natsu, this is the stuff Naruto is really good at. Remember what he is after all."

Walking over to the glass door, Naruto pulls out two Senbon from his sleeve. Kneeling down he picks the lock in seconds. "It took me five long months learning how to use these damn needles. Baachan said I should be prepared for anything, why she taught me herself with these."

A shudder runs down his spine remembering being a human pincushion. Had to be all the times he called Tsunade 'granny', even if it was him being affectionate.

"Baachan?" Lucy tilts her head over to her fellow blond.

Naruto scratches the back of his head; "My foster mother, Tsunade Senju. She adopted me when I was twelve. We always had an odd mother and son relationship. But we loved each other, all that counts."

Natsu looks over to Lucy; "I thought you said you can never forgive that old geezer."

"Oh I won't forgive him. When we burn that damn book, I am going to use his toothbrush to clean the toilets." The buxom blond cackles evilly.

"Man that is so freaking gross." Natsu shakes his head

_Hell hath no fury than woman scorned_, Naruto thinks while cringing. Standing the blond silently opens the door.

Entering the room, they all shelves littered with books, antiques, and even full plate armor on display near the walls. Both Naruto and Mira look around curiously, along with Lucy and Natsu.

"What is this? A storage room?" The buxom blond asks out loud.

"**RRAWWH..!**"

Grabbing her chest, Lucy hyperventilates holding the wall, while Natsu laughs seeing Happy wearing a skull mask over his head. Both snicker at their busty friend, until being smacked on their heads by Naruto and Mirajane.

Heading out from the storage room, the group moves quietly through the mansion, checking room by room. Although for Naruto's case, he had to hold back the bile in his throat seeing a toilet with a bust of Everlue's head. Not to mention the giant golden statue of the man himself in the main room.

"Do we seriously have to look at every room? Be loads faster if we grabbed someone and make them tell us where it is." Natsu grumbles.

Naruto rubs his eyes; "The whole idea of an infiltration is stealth." Mira quietly nodding in agreement to her roommates words.

"Why don't you be like Naruto, act like a ninja?" Lucy looks over to the dragon slayer.

The said 'authentic' Ninja of the group feels his eye twitching; "Excuse me?"

A large goofy smile forms on Natsu's lips; "Like a real ninja?"

"What's going on inside that head of yours?" Lucy dryly looks over.

"Hello! I am a real damn ninja, dattebayo!"

The group stops as the ground in front of them erupts with the four maids jumping out; "Intruders Virgo!"

Appearing at their lead the gorilla woman glares; "Let's get them girls!"

"**RRAWWH..!**"

Scattering, the four ugly maids flee from a skull masked blue furred feline. Soon all are sent flying by a flaming right hook from Natsu. "NINJA POWER!"

A deep throaty growl and dangerous eye twitching shows Naruto is far from pleased. The young man maybe a goof most days, but being a shinobi he takes very seriously, and with a hell of a lot pride like any true Uzu.

"It's alright, let Natsu have his fun." Mira pats the blond on the head.

Quickly before the girls could even blink, Naruto pulls both back as Virgo leaps and lands on top of their dragon slayer friend, trying to flatten him. Lucy and Happy nearly scream till see Natsu pick up the large woman and throwing her off to the side. A magic circle appears at his feet, leaping up the dragon slayer kicks Virgo down the first floor hard with a flaming kick.

Landing beside the group, Natsu has his scarf around his face save his eyes like a mask. His hands together in the worst hand seal Naruto has ever seen "We must not let ourselves be discovered. We are Ninja!"

"Ninja!" Happy repeats on his friend's shoulder.

"Ninja are supposed to quiet you guys." Lucy moans dryly.

"That is not how you do a ram seal, you dumbass!" Naruto growls out. "And when the hell do I ever talk like that dattebayo! Ninja do not sound like that!" Mirajane giggles at the blond Sennin waving his fist angrily at Natsu.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Realizing the fight might have alerted someone, they dash through a large white door. Closing the door the group find where they needed to be, the study. All along the walls are built in shelves filled with countless books.

A whistle comes from Naruto; "That is a lot of books." Both Natsu and Happy nod in agreement.

"Some of these look priceless." Mira looks at one shelf.

_Want to guess how he got a few of these priceless items?_ The blond Uzumaki thinks dryly. He absently hears the fox snorting.

"Let's start looking." Natsu cheers with an 'aye sir' from Happy.

"Everlue might look like an idiot, but has good taste in literature." Lucy comments looking around. "I might actually respect him a little if he reads all of these."

Stopping at a shelf Natsu's eyes widen; "He has Icha-Icha Paradise and Violence!"

"Those have been selling like crazy all around Magnolia!" Happy flies around the shelves.

"Actually, they have been the best-selling novels in all of Fiore for two years." Mira walks over beside Lucy looking around. "Just have no idea who the author is. He or she keeps a very private life."

No one noticing Naruto adjusting his collar uncomfortably, as he hears the old fox chuckling at him...

"Hey found a book on fish!" Happy smiles brightly.

Lucy sighs; "This is going to really suck. How are we going to find one stupid book with all these books?"

Pulling a book with a golden cover from the shelf, Naruto looks over to his fellow blond dryly; "Oh something like this Lu-Chan."

The blond shows the front cover of the book with the picture of a sunrise, above that in big bold words; DAYBREAK.

"We found it already?!" Natsu and Lucy almost shout.

Mira smiles clasping her hands together; "Way to go Foxy!"

Fire lights from Natsu's hand; "Alright lets burn it and get out of here!"

However, Naruto only looks at Daybreak as Lucy walks over to him. Upon seeing the author's name at the bottom, she snatches the book showing pure awe in her brown eyes. "This book was made by Kemu Zaleon!"

"Who?" The boys plus cat ask in unison.

"Kemu Zaleon, he was not only a great Mage but a brilliant writer." Mira looks over to Naruto and Natsu.

Lucy coos looking at the book. "I have read every one of his books! Even when I was a little girl I have been a fan of his work! Was this unpublished or something?"

Natsu shrugs; "Well, whatever. It all burns the same way."

In a flash, the buxom blond holds the book for dear life; "You are not burning this book! This is an artistic piece of literature. You're not going anywhere near it, pyro!"

"Lu-Chan, we would be abandoning the job." Mira reasons which Natsu nodding.

"Can't we just pretend we burned it?" Lucy was trying to reason with the pyromaniac

"I'm no liar!" Natsu hand lights in flames again.

"We won't pretend to burn it, because we are not burning it."

Naruto's words catch Natsu and Mira by surprise as they look sharply at him. Both were about to say something till seeing his eyes showing his finality to the discussion. "There is a reason Kaby-San wants this burned. I want to know what it is."

"Foxy?"

Naruto looks his partner's in the eyes; "Look underneath the underneath. Never take anything at face value, this is one of those times Mira."

"Aw, come on Naruto! We just burn the book and get out of here!" Natsu whines.

"Well, well… So that is the reason, Boyoyo!" The ground erupts as Everlue jumps out from a hole. "So you thieves are here to take the Daybreak from me are you? All this effort by so many Mages for one worthless little book."

"Wouldn't it been easier to come through the door?" Happy mutters on Naruto's shoulder.

Lucy lifts a delicate brow; _Worthless? Kaby-San wants this destroyed for 2 million. But the owner calls it worthless? _Her fellow blond is also thinking the same thing.

"Well this works out fine. If the owner thinks it's worthless I can have it and we can all go home!" The buxom blond beams.

Everlue nearly blows a gasket; "That book is mine! You can't have it, so get your grubby hands off!"

Natsu glances to Naruto; "Come on man, let me burn the book and be done with it."

"No~ I don't want to!" Lucy whines.

"This is our job Lucy!" The dragon slayer sternly looks over.

All the males gawk as the buxom blond sits on her knees; "Well least let me read it!"

"YOU'RE READING IT NOW!?" Naruto, Natsu, Everlue, and happy yell out.

Everlue growls; "Oh Bullshit, I have had enough. How dare you touch one of my possessions! Come forth, Vanish Brothers!"

Two bookshelves slide away from each other revealing a secret door. "You summoned us sir?" A calm male voice comes from the door.

Sennin, Demoness, and Dragon Slayer narrow their eyes as two men enter the room.

The first man entering is average in height, wearing a white long sleeve shirt with green lining, black pants, and martial arts sneakers. He is bald save the back of his head which is braided in a long pony tail. On his face are four kanji symbol tattoos.

On his back appears to be a long metal staff frying pan.

The second is a tall lengthy build man, wearing a blue long-sleeved jacket with yellow stripes, blue jeans, and combat boots. His black hair styled like four long points, wearing an orange bandanna wrapped on his forehead. Both men having a cloth on their arms showing the symbol of the wolf.

"Can't believe these runts are from the Fairy tail guild." The tall man crosses his arms.

"They're from the Southern Wolves." Mira speaks up beside Naruto. "A mercenary guild. The shorter one is the older brother, the taller is the youngest."

The older brother nods respectfully; "Very astute, Mirajane Strauss."

A feral smirk crosses Natsu's lip as he cracks his knuckles; "So, hired muscle huh?"

"Boyoyo! The Southern Wolves are always hungry, prepare to die fools!"

Despite the intense air in the room, Lucy reads happily which makes the males plus cat gawk at her. While Mirajane only giggles at the sight; "Lu-Chan really does love books."

The older Vanish brother looks dryly. "What a joke."

"Got that right." The younger brother mumbles back.

"This…" Quickly standing, Lucy looks to her friends; "Hey can you guys keep them busy? Like you said Naru, look underneath the underneath. I think I found something."

_Naru eh, heh... Shizune-Neechan always called me that._ The blond Uzumaki absently smirks before turning serious. "Mira-Chan, go with her. Happy you go to." The three nod as they run off.

Everlue narrows his eyes; _A secret? It must have slipped by me somehow. Perhaps Kemu left a treasure behind!_ "Vanish Brothers; I will take care of the girls. Kill these two brats!" The fat noble vanishes making another hole in his floor.

The older brother rubs his eyes; "Selfish clients can be so tiresome, Otouto."

"For real Niisan." The young brother shakes his head.

Natsu loosens his shoulders; "I got dibs on tall, flashy, and creepy."

"You cocky little bastard!" The young brother growls, a hand from his older brother stops him.

"He is baiting you Otouto, calm yourself down. We will take him down a peg soon enough."

The blond Sennin shrugs; "Guess that leaves me with the other one."

"You will find me not so simple to defeat, Mage," The older brother narrows his eyes.

A growl comes from Naruto's throat; "I am not a damn Mage. I am a Shinobi!"

Lifting his nonexistent eyebrow the older brother looks critically; "A non-mage in a wizard's guild? That is rather odd."

"Yes, it's rare, dick weed, but some do join." Naruto retorts dryly. "Been in Fairy Tail for two years thank you very much."

"At any rate, the man beside you is a fire Mage correct?" The older brother looks to Natsu.

"How did you know?" Natsu narrows his eyes.

The younger brother shrugs; "We have surveillance crystals all over the mansion. We saw you fight Virgo with the flames on your feet. The female blond has celestial gate keys on her belt. She is a celestial Mage."

"Meaning, the girl you call Lucy is a 'holder-type' Mage. You and Mirajane Strauss are an 'ability-type' Mage." The older brother finishes. "However, I heard Mirajane had lost much of her power due to the death of her younger sister, Lisanna Strauss."

Before the young Sennin could stop his friend, flames coats Natsu's clinch fist as he charges forward. "You don't have the right to speak her name!" The dragon slayer's voice being nothing but rage as he roars.

Appearing in front of his younger sibling, the older brother pulls out his large metal long handle frying pan from his back. Flaming Fist collides with metal; Natsu's eyes harden seeing the flames slowly vanish from slamming into the frying pan's flat back end.

"You will find your precious flames useless with me. Fighting fire Mages is one of my specialties!" The older brother narrows his eyes.

"Then how about fighting a Shinobi!" The older brother lifts his weapon in time to block Naruto's punch. But to the mercenary's shock he skids back a few feet. Keeping the pressure, the blond is on the older brother with roundhouse kick. Again he only hits metal, but the force sends the oldest brother through the doors and out of the room with Naruto on his tail.

Natsu smirks popping his knuckles. "Looks like it's just you and me big guy."

The older brother just scoffs, not liking the attitude form the Fire Mage. "Don't underestimate me, I eat Fire Mages for breakfast!" With a roar, the younger brother runs forth with a pulled back fist.

Grinning from ear to ear, Natsu jumps to the side of the punch to his chest, turning around and spinning with a rising leg smacking into the merc's face, knocking him back with a flip.

Though he was flipping from the crushing kick to the face, the younger mercenary of the duo corrects himself, landing on his feet and acted fast, seeing Natsu rushing in with a wild punch. Catching the fist of the Fire Mage, the Mercenary pulls Natsu around like a whip. He only set up his actual hit, with a quick reversal he cut with a knife hand to Natsu's neck, attempting to knock the Mage out.

Cursing under his breath at being caught into such a counter attack, Natsu blocked the blow, kicking off the ground as he was slammed into by the knife hand and arm. The momentum causing him to spin upside down, where he landed on both hands and gripped the ground, twisting and striking out like a top with his feet. "Take THIS!"

The younger brother of the merc duo was caught completely off guard, and was hit once, spun around form the hit, and then kicked hard in the back by a second hit, causing him to land on the ground, failing to catch himself.

Pushing himself up and flipping to his feet, Natsu slammed his fists into each other, and grinned. Fire magic swirling around him, he breathed in. "**FIRE DRAGONS ROAR!****"**

The Mercenary, without his pan, could only jump out of the way of the fire coming his way. This was a good thing as well as a mistake, as Natsu jumped up, spinning like a ball before springing his legs out and crashing them against the Merc's head, causing the tall younger brother to fall into the ground at high speed.

Though the fight was not over just yet, as the merc landed on his feet, the ground crumbling under him from the force. Looking up to see the fire Mage rushing down for the final blow, he went for the counter.

With a dropping spear kick, Natsu was smirking in victory, and a little too soon it would seem, as he soon found himself punched in the gut by a powerful fist strike, the merc dodging his kick and taking a jab of his own enough to cause Natsu to fly back in pain.

Landing on the ground, Natsu grips his belly and groans a bit. "Damn it! That hurt you prick! Low blow!"

The response the younger mercenary gave was a scoff, a spit of his blood, and a glare. "Mage's always think they have flashy fighting moves, when all they got is magic and no physical prowess. I'll admit, you've given me a good fight, surprised me a good amount. But I won't let you beat me so easily."

The mercenary jumped into the air himself, ready to end Natsu with a dropping knee attack. This was where Natsu decided to just end things and get their reward. Flipping himself back, Natsu dodged the knee attack, before kicking out against the Merc and slamming his feet into the chin of the taller brother.

The move also proving to give Natsu the momentum to flip right-side up again, he grabs the mercenary and drops him to the floor. "That's it, you egotistical mercenaries think Fairy Tail is for show huh? Well this will show you our potential!"

Natsu pulled the Merc up, upside down, in front of him, and a fire engulfed his body and more so on his fist. "**FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!****"**

And with that, he gives the taller brother of the duo a sweet punch to the gut, sending him flying through the doors ahead.

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

Back flipping over the railing to avoid hitting it, the older brother skids when landing on the first floor. Looking up, he sees his opponent front flipping and landing on the first floor in front of him. Cerulean and raven stare blankly at each other.

"Have to admit you are good." The older brother states calm as ever.

"I busted my ass to get where I am, I better damn well be." An object slips into the blond's right hand.

Lifting a brow, the older brother sees what looks like a sword hilt, oddly vajra in design. "Is that a magic sword? So you are a swordsman?"

_Well, as far as most people in the guild and Earthland think it is._ "A gift from my mother, her grand uncle made it himself. As for being a swordsman, it's a work in progress. Only know two techniques, and getting the speed down for it is a bitch."

"Let's see how good you are then Shinobi." Hearing a sound the older brother sees a blade of yellow lighting come to life from Naruto's sword.

Without hesitation, Naruto put the sword to his side, as if sheathing it. Bending down a bit he glares at the older mercenary. "You asked for it." In a blinding flash of speed, Naruto was on the frying pan wielder instantly, slashing upward with a heavy speed strike.

The older of the Merc duo could hardly block in time, but managed to pull it off by spinning the large pan itself down in the way, the metal sparking from the lightning, but unable to absorb the chakra of the blade. The force was enough to open the older brother to Naruto's spinning kick to the gut.

Although the kick connected, the older brother backed off in time to reduce the strength it hit him with, making him unbalanced and trying to correct himself. Giving Naruto an opening, it was taken by the blond Sennin, who came with a fierce downward slash.

The pan wielding merc dragged the handle down in time to block the blade, which sparked against the pan handle fiercely before he turned, throwing Naruto off to the side before swinging his pan in time to finally land a blow.

Naruto ducked down completely under the pan, backing off from where he was about to land, and where the pan was aimed at. Without missing a beat, Naruto slashed for the mercenary's feet, trying to cut him down.

This was not going to be easy, however. The older of the duo jumped along with his swing, seeing Naruto dodge his blow. The momentum of his swing turning him around, backing him away a bit, and raising his pan for the next attack.

Naruto, seeing this, stands up to ready himself for this attack. Though what he thought as a downward slam turned into a swinging handle strike. The pan wielder knowing his weapon well, as he struck forward with the handle's tip, swinging it around to slam into Naruto's head.

Seeing this change in attack, Naruto risked the pain for his ending blow. "Wrong move!" With a speed the mercenary was unaware of, Naruto stepped forward, under the handle strike, and slashed for his hands. Though not a real blade, and not really cutting any flesh, the pain of the electrical current was undeniable as the older brother mercenary screamed from his arms being hit by a powerful yellow lightning, scarring his arms and forcing him to drop the frying pan with flailing arms, sending it right for Naruto, who jumped back quickly to dodge it and pull off his finishing blow.

Applying chakra to his legs, the blond quickly leaps high into air, avoiding the Pan flying at him. Looking up, the bald man sees the young Sennin coming down with his lightning sword raised above his head.

_**Ryu Tsui Sen!**_

He had no time to scream as the older brother feels pure pain from being slashed from right shoulder to the left of his waist. Standing to his feet, the blond watches his enemy fall on his back. His cerulean eyes gaze solemnly at the now unconscious man.

"Being I am a Ninja, I understand you some since you're a mercenary." The lightning blade of the Raijin no Ken fades as the blond looks at the hilt. "But piece of advice, never underestimate anyone."

**Fire Dragon Iron Fist****!**

As those words left Naruto's lips, the younger Vanish brother flies into view, while in flames. Hitting the ground hard and unconscious partially burnt. Coming out of the study Natsu smirks down at his friend; "That chump was all talk. Saying how Mages don't know how to fight."

"Obviously they have never been to Magnolia." Naruto chuckles.

The dragon slayer rubs the back of his head sheepishly; "Though I think I overdid it."

Neither one noticing Virgo's eyes beginning to glow.

XxX ~ Lucy, Happy, and Mirajane ~ XxX

Down in the mansion's sewer system, Mira sits beside Lucy as she rapidly reads Daybreak with 'wind reading glasses'. Sitting on the white haired beauty's lap, Happy looks up to Mira. "Agree with Natsu, it would have been better to burn the book."

"I trust Foxy's instincts. Also, something did not feel right when we spoke with Kaby-San." Mira looks down to the little blue feline.

Closing the book and taking off her glasses, Lucy looks over; "Naru was right. You won't believe what is hidden in this book. We can't burn it now, no way!" Both ladies stand dusting themselves off. "We have to take this to Kaby-San."

"Boyoyo~, Wind reading glasses eh, care to share little girl? Secrets don't make friends you know."

Gasping, Mira jumps back as two arms come through the wall grabbing Lucy's wrists, making her drop the book and her glasses which break. The wall opens revealing Everlue as he sneers at the ladies and flying cat.

The blond squeaks painfully as Everlue holds her arms tightly behind her back. "I will never tell you." She growls out. "You're an enemy of literature! A man like you does not deserve to know!"

"An enemy of literature?" Everlue sounding offended. "Each one of my books I read to the last page girl, my works of fine art proves I am cultures greatest friend! Are you suggesting of man of my high social status is comparable that of some uncultured peasant!?"

"HAH! Your ugly maid collection says you don't know squat about beauty!"

"How dare you mock, they are the very definition of beauty!" Everlue grips her wrists harder. "What secret does it hold? Let me guess, Kemu must have buried his fortune. He must have placed a treasure map within the pages. Tell me girl!"

The answer he got from the buxom blond is her tongue sticking out, blowing raspberries at him. Snarling, Everlue was about to snap Lucy's arms till being strongly dropped kicked in the face by Happy. His grip loosens, but in a second a very sharp object flies through the air, making the short man letting go of Lucy and ducking out of fright.

Running over and grabbing the book, Lucy stands by Mira who threw the object in question. Flying back over to his friends, Happy lands on the buxom blond's slender shoulder, as Everlue leaps out his hole, shakily looking behind him. Imbedded in a pipe, he sees an odd three point dagger with writing on the handle.

Shaking off his fear, Everlue looks back at the ladies in anger; "You little brats! I had commissioned Kemu to create that book. So whatever secret it holds rightfully belongs to me!"

Lucy smirks as she lifts her arms revealing a golden key in her hand. "Looks like the tables have turned tubby. Give me the book and I might go easy on you. But all things considered, I just give a good smack anyway."

"Oh, so you are celestial Mage I see. But it seems for a student of literature, your intelligence is flawed. You child believe the weaker party has rallied to defeat the stronger foe." Everlue smirks viciously; "But your power is not match for my 'Diver' magic Boyoyo!"

"He's a Mage?" Both Lucy and Happy yell as Mira narrows her eyes.

A hand grabs the back of Everlue's suit before he could sink back into the ground. "I had about enough of you, you damn gopher." The aristocrat feels himself flying backwards before his nerves feel intense pain when hitting the wall.

The buxom blond gasps. "Naru!" her fellow blond glaring where Everlue hit the ground. She soon blinks in confusion; "Wait? How did you get down here?"

Naruto smirks showing the tri point kunai in his hand as Mira explains; "You see? There is a seal on Foxy's kunai. When I throw it, it is kind of like a summoning and he teleports wherever you are when throwing It." The blond hands her hack the kunai. "Thank you Foxy."

"Hiraishin no jutsu; something my dad made. He left a few of his special kunai set so I can use It." The blond Sennin soon groans. "But I am still having a hell of time making a custom seal of my own, my dad and mom were both geniuses at Fūinjutsu."

Crossing his arms, the blond Uzumaki leans his back against the metal wall. "He is all yours Lu-Chan. Kick his fat ass."

"You got it!" The buxom blond smirks as Everlue stands holding his head. "I read every page of this book. It is a horrible adventure novel, idolizing you as the main hero!"

Naruto, Mirajane, and even Happy deadpans at the short fat man; "Seriously?"

Everlue shakes off the mental cobwebs; "Why should 'I' not be idolized?! But yes, the plot itself was crap. And to believe such terrible work actually came from Kemu Zaleon. Inexcusable..!"

Lucy clinches her fists; "How can you be so arrogant! You forced him to write it!?"

Everlue scoffs; "Arrogance you say child? Kemu should have felt both honored and privileged to write a story of my magnificence!"

"Then why did you have to blackmail him into doing it?" The buxom blond nearly yells.

Mira blinks looking over to Naruto who glares dangerously at Everlue. The said tubby bastard shrugs unconcerned. "What is the big deal? All he needed was the proper encouragement. Any fool would have jumped at the chance to have me as their main role. But the stubborn fool said no."

"What the?" The more this man talked Lucy feels bile coming up her throat.

"So I gave him an ultimatum. Write the story or I revoke his entire family's citizenship. In the end he gave up and wrote the story." Everlue actually having the gall in smiling proudly in bringing down another human being.

Mira looks in shock; "You would have withdrawn their citizenship? But they would never have been able to find another line of employment in the workforce guild!"

"How much authority does this guy have?" Happy looks equally in shock on Naruto's shoulder.

_Well since sir Duke douche bag is the richest prick in town, he can do whatever the fuck he pleases._ Naruto mentally growls. In his mind the Kyuubi watches with one eye open.

"But I did not care for his actions for rejecting me once. So I had him write in a jail cell, rotting for three years." Everlue smiles maliciously. "He finally realized my greatness when I crushed his pride!"

Something in Lucy finally snaps; "You bastard, all this to feed your vanity! It was to protect his family; it's why he had to write your character as some heroic character of justice, when it was all bull crap! A true writer's pride would never break to a big idiot like you!"

The tubby bastard soon glares at the buxom blond; "How do you know so much of these facts?"

"Because Kemu-Sama wrote everything within these pages! He used all of his magic into making this book! He was a Mage before becoming a writer." Lucy smiles victoriously along with Naruto.

A deep cold chill runs down Everlue's spine; _if he wrote down about how I made him write my story. Then he also wrote every last backhand deal I ever made! You bastard, even in death you still mock me Kemu. UNFORGIVABLE..!" _

"But there is much more! A secret not even meant for you! And that is why I will never give this book back to you!" Lucy lifts her hand holding her golden key; **Open: Gate of the giant crab, Cancer****!**

In a flash of light a tall lean build man appears. Wearing a blue stripped button, long sleeved shirt, black leather pants and shoes, black shades covering his eyes. His short black hair in corn rolls oddly, and on his back are six large crab legs. In both of his hands at very sharp shears.

Immediately drool forms from Happy's mouth and stars in his eyes; "A GIANT CRAB! Oh, yeah! Nothing says I am going to kick your backside like a tough guy wearing sunglasses!"

Naruto's eye twitches; "Please do not drool on my sage coat, dattebayo." Mira giggles at her friend's grief.

"Hey Lucy? How would you like your hair done today, baby?" Cancer asks in a deep raspy voice.

Happy's jaw drops as he weakly looks to Lucy; "Can you send him back?" Naruto face palms.

"Oh, shut up you stupid cat. And can you focus please Cancer?" Lucy mumbles in pure annoyance. "Take care of baldy over there please."

"Awesome, you got it baby."

His mind racing a hundred thoughts a minute, Everlue seethes; "Damn you Zaleon… I will not rot in hell with you. Do you hear me ZALEON?!" Raising his right arm, a golden key is held formerly in his hand.

**Open: Gate of the maiden, VIRGO****!**

_No way! He knows celestial magic too!?_ The buxom blond's eyes widen in shock.

Ripping through the ground like a beast, the gorilla maid roars; "Did I hear my master summon me?!"

Everlue point to the thorns in his side. "Fetch me that book Virgo."

"You got to be kidding! She is a celestial spirit?!" Lucy looks to Cancer who nods 'yes' to her. "Oh, crap."

However, everyone's eyes soon widen like dinner plates as they see, of all people, Natsu hanging on the gorilla woman's back. "Where the hell am I?!" The dragon slayer soon sees Naruto and growls. "You bum, you used that damn Hiraishin of yours without taking me with you!"

"What is the meaning of this!?" Everlue's eye twitches.

The said blond only gawks as Lucy finds her voice; "How did you get down here?!"

"How? Well since Naruto ditched me I saw her getting up. So I jumped onto her back and find myself here."

"You… Grabbed a hold of her… That means you passed through the spirit gate with her.." Lucy only gawks in sheer shock. "No living human can survive a travel like that! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

_Should I say anything about that?_ The blond Uzumaki mentally wonders.

**"I'd doubt she'd believe you gaki."** The fox retorts dryly.

"Hey Lucy, what do I with gorilla lady!?" Natsu yells hanging on Virgo as she tries to grab him.

"You finish what you started, DUH!" Lucy yells back.

Everlue growls pointing at the Fairy Tail crew. "Virgo, I want you to clean up this rubbish!"

Front flipping off the large woman he skids to a stop with a feral grin. Virgo raises her fist. "As you wish master."

**FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST****!**

Everlue's eyes bulge out of their sockets, as he sees his prized maid slamming into the ground, making a massive crater, courtesy of Natsu's flaming fist. Grabbing the whip from her belt, Lucy lashes it forward wrapping it around Everlue's throat.

"You dirty little mole man! GET HIM CANCER!" She lifted Everlue into the air with her whip.

"You got it baby." The celestial spirit sprints with blinding speed.

_Wow he is fast_, The shared thought of Naruto and Mira.

"You don't even have what it takes to be even a support character! You're just another greedy villain!" The buxom blond yells as Natsu roundhouse kicks tubby in the face over to cancer.

"I am done, is this what you wanted, baby?"

"Hah, oh yeah, way a go crab man." Natsu smirks.

The celestial spirit is soon back beside his master, as Everlue hits the ground unconscious, now bald and no mustache. Both Natsu and Happy cheer as Lucy pulls her whip back on her belt, giving a high five to Cancer. She then hugs the book warmly to her chest.

Both Naruto and Mira smile as they look at one another. "I'd say Lu-chan kicked some ass, dattebayo."

"She is a true member of Fairy Tail." Mira smiles standing beside her partner.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As they leave the mansion, Naruto sent a Kage Bunshin to the council troops stationed in town. Before that little bastard can blink he will be in jail where he rightfully belongs.

When knocking on the door, with Marie surprised in seeing everyone again, she lets them in to see her husband. Kaby is both surprised and relieved seeing everyone back and safe. Standing in front of their client, Lucy sits the book on the table as she sits down beside Natsu.

"I am glad all of you are safe." Kaby looks down at the book with a hard expression. "But I asked you to burn this book."

"I completely understand you wish to destroy this book. Because you wish to protect your father's legacy, because you Kemu-Sama's son aren't you."

Natsu, Happy, and Mira's eyes widen as Naruto crosses his arms. "Look underneath, the underneath. Score one for Kakashi-Sensei."

Kaby sighs looking at the book. "Yes. I am Kemu Zaleon's son."

"Have you ever read it?" Lucy asks softly.

"No." Kaby shakes his head; "I could never bring myself to do it. But it would be waste of time. As my father said this is trash."

Despite Naruto having a firm grip on the back of Natsu's waistcoat, both Mira and Lucy hold each of his arms restraining an angry dragon slayer. "That was your fathers! Who gives a damn if it's worthless, it was made by your FATHER!" Natsu's voice and body shaking with rage. "Some people would kill for that kind of memory!"

"That enough Natsu, at least let Kaby explain himself." Lucy strains holding back her friend.

Kaby sighs as he takes the book from the coffee table; "Daybreak, it caused my family nothing but heartache since its creation. Thirty-one years ago my father returned home, and upon returning he took a butcher knife to his right hand and cut it off."

The girls plus cat gasp, as both Natsu and Naruto stare wide eye at the older gentleman. Gripping the book in his hand, they all saw regret on Kaby's face. "I said terrible things to him when he was placed in the hospital. When I left I heard he committed suicide. For the longest time I hated my father for so weak he could not standup for himself."

Marie places her hands on her husband's shoulders as he speaks again; "Years later I deeply regretted everything I said to him. I can never got back and take away all the things I said." The group looks at him quietly as keeps his eyes on Daybreak. "So for some measure of atonement. I will burn away this shame."

Placing the book down to reach for matches in his pocket, Daybreak soon begins to glow brightly. Soon the letters of Daybreak rise from the book, soon they begin to shift around.

"You're wrong Kaby-San. Kemu Zaleon, or rather Zekua Melon, cast one final spell upon this book." Lucy explains as the 'Daybreak' now becomes 'Dear Kaby'. The book soon opens as the pages glows brightly with letters soon coming off the pages and into the air.

"Your father did not stop writing because he wrote the worst book in history. He stopped because he wrote his masterpiece. A letter to you, the son he loved with every fiber of his being. And when you read it the way he intended, it is easily the best work he ever wrote!" Lucy smiles seeing light tears in Kaby's eyes.

Naruto chuckles as Mira smiles brightly. _Good way to finish a mission._

XxX ~ Nightfall ~ XxX

Walking back home to Magnolia, only Lucy drags her feet looking to ground moping. Beside her, Mira rubs her friend's shoulders gently with Naruto having both his hand behind his head. In front Natsu walks with Happy flying beside him.

"We could have had two million jewels," The buxom blond quietly whines. "Two months' worth of rent and clothing shopping down the drain."

Her fellow blond chuckles as Mira sweatdrops. "Well, the job was to burn the book Lu-Chan. But since we didn't, we failed." That only made Lucy slump her shoulders. "If it's that bad, foxy can help out, right?"

Naruto blinks owlishly. "Huh? I will?"

In slow motion, with big puppy dog eyes, Lucy gazes over to her fellow blond. "You will Naru~?" And like an idiot Naruto looked. Whatever resistance he had become jelly when seeing those big brown eyes almost tearing up.

_Ah, damn it! _

Now it is Naruto's turn to slump forward as Mira giggles at him. "I'll pay it for ya, dattebayo."

Her depression vanishes in seconds as Lucy squeals jumping up and down. She quickly hugs Naruto, who glares over to Mira, who only sticks her tongue out at him. All the while trying and failing to ignore, the buxom blond's large breasts press on his body.

Natsu looks back to everyone. "Besides, it would be wrong taking money from those two since they really did not have that much money at all."

"Aye, since they were borrowed a friend's rich house." Happy flies over to Naruto landing on his shoulder.

Letting go of Naruto, Lucy looks over to Natsu. "How did you know they never lived there?"

"That was easy. Their scent did not match the one of the mansion." The dragon slayer smiles.

_Why am I not surprised_; Lucy sweatdrops.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

At a clearing, Natsu gets a camp fire going, while Naruto pulls out a scrolls filled with food and some drinks. Everyone sits eating quietly while keeping warm. Sitting beside Mira, Lucy sighs contently.

"Still, it was a blessing to read such a good book from Kemu-Sama."

A Cheshire smile slowly grows on Natsu's face; "I got you all figured out. All those papers on your desk. Your trying to become a writer aren't you."

The buxom blond blushes a storm peaking both Naruto's and Mira's curiosity. Lucy quickly waves her arms; "Please don't tell anyone! This is my first story and it's not really good yet."

"How will we know if it's not good if we haven't seen it yet?" Mira tilts her head.

Quickly crawling on all fours, Lucy cups Mira's hands pleadingly; "Please Mira-Chan. Please don't tell anyone I am making a book."

Sighing, looking over to Naruto who shrugs, Mira nods back to Lucy. "Okay, I promise not to say a word." She is quickly hugged by the buxom blond.

Naruto snorts while Natsu laughs.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After a good night's sleep the group keeps walking through the forest by dawn's light. However, Natsu cannot stop snickering seeing Naruto and his Kage Bunshin piggybacking both Mira and Lucy. The reason being the group is walking through a swamp.

"I'd say Mira-Chan is comfortable boss." The clone snickers along with Lucy on the said clone's back.

A twitching eye from the original blond, as Mirajane has fallen asleep on his back, her arms wrapped around his neck, her head leaning on his, smiling contently. It is something about his abnormally high body heat and the few times when Mira was too tired working at the bar to walk home, he carried her. Every time she always falls quickly asleep, snuggling the blond's back like he was her favorite teddy bear.

"I really don't mind, but Mira-Chan really likes to cling when doing this." Naruto mumbles absently making the others chuckle. It was true, first time it ever happened she never let go, so he had to sleep in the same bed with her.

It was a rather interesting, very awkward, an insanely hilarious morning for both of them.

Shaking off her muses, Lucy looks to Happy who is sitting on Natsu's head. "I don't know about this you guys, are you certain we are going the right way?"

"Happy said this is the quickest way home, so we're going this route." Natsu mutters dryly.

"Aye sir, have a little faith. Trust my nose! It never lies." The blue feline puffs his chest proudly.

"It never lies, when there is a lot of fish nearby dattebayo..." Both Narutos retort shaking their heads.

Lucy sighs in exasperation; "It's dogs that have great noses. And what does smell have to do with direction?"

Walking out of the swamp, Natsu looks dryly at Lucy who is still piggybacking on the Naruto's clone. "Why don't you walk for yourself?"

"Because my feet hurt, and Naru is really warm and relaxing. Besides, I don't hear him complaining." Lucy smiles resting her chin on the clone's shoulder.

Both blonds shrug; "Helping a friend and being a gentleman. There is nothing wrong with it."

**"And if I recall correctly, you use to act just like that bonehead lizard brat over there."**

_Oh shut up…_

Natsu only grunts rolling his eyes, hearing a noise from some bushes the males stop narrowing their eyes. Instantly the dragon slayer jumps into the bush ready for a fight as both Naruto's pull out their Raijin no ken into their respected hands, ready to blaze in a moment of trouble.

"Do you always have to fight Natsu?" Both Naruto's hearing the underlining worry in Lucy's tone.

"Aye, get' em Natsu!" Happy cheers.

Leaping out of the bush both Naruto's and Lucy sweatdrop. Glaring at each other, Natsu and now revealed Gray, in only his boxer mind you, growl at one another. Leaping off Naruto's clone Lucy looks to the two fellow blonds as the clone dispels.

"Why is Gray in his boxers?"

Stirring, Mirajane yawns cutely looking up at the scene; "It's just Gray, you get used to it after a while."

The buxom blond looks at Naruto dryly as he nods; "Sadly you do…"

Looking back over as Natsu and Gray as they argue she sighs. "They can be so childish…"

As she said that, the ice Mage stops arguing when seeing Mirajane piggybacking on Naruto. "Wait, Mira was still at the guild when I left."

Naruto snorts while Mira giggles; "That was Foxy's clone henge'd to be me."

"Jiji knows I do it because Mira-Chan needs a break from time to time at the bar."

Gray's eye twitches. "Why did you never tell anyone?"

"Nobody asked!" Mira and Naruto say in unison.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"You were coming back home from a job?" Lucy asks sitting on a rock beside Mira.

"Yeah, I took a short through the woods since it's faster." The ice Mage comments sitting by Naruto and Natsu, and fully clothed.

The group takes a small break at cliff where Happy sits at the edge fishing at the river below. "See, I told you this was the quickest way."

The buxom blond looks to the feline dryly; "Oh yeah, if your nose was so awesome, how did not know Gray was right in front of us?"

"There are some things you don't' want to smell."

A vein pops on Gray's face glaring at Happy; "What did you say?" Shaking his head Gray stands; "Whatever, we best hurry back anyways. Erza is due back anytime now."

Paling, the dragon slayer gawks while Naruto and Mira perk up. Lucy lightly gasps; "'The' Erza."

Naruto rubs his chin; "That's right, Erza-Chan went on a monster hunting job three weeks ago. Offered to help but said she had it."

Happy walks over with a fish in his mouth; "Well she is the strongest woman in Fairy Tail."

"I can't wait to meet her~!" Lucy coos while blushing before getting serious and looks to Naruto and Mira. "But you know, I never seen a picture of her in sorcerer's weekly or anything what's she like?"

"Scary." This comes from Natsu, Gray, and Happy.

Lucy sweatdrops as Naruto shakes his head; "Erza-Chan is a very kind person, she just strict when coming to certain things." The young Sennin quickly stands smirking at Lucy making some hand seals. "As for how she looks… _**Henge**_...!"

The two other males, plus feline freeze while Lucy blushes. Appear before her is a striking beautiful long red haired woman, with a slender, voluptuous figure that rivals Mirajane. From the waist up she wears armor with the Heart's Kruez symbol on left breast, from the waist down is a blue plated skirt and thigh high leather boot.

Her almond eyes show nothing but strength as she smiles down at Lucy. "Well, what do you think?" the redhead's voice husky with a hint of sultry.

_Erza looks like this!? She is so~ beautiful…_ Lucy almost swoons at the sight as Naruto dispels the jutsu. Shaking out of her stupor and catching her breath the buxom blond grins up to her friend as she stands.

"With a body like that why doesn't she flaunt it?"

"Erza-Chan is much more reserved than that. She just likes keeping things in the guild orderly and functioning. She even scares Master when she is on a roll." Mira speaks up as she stands dusting off her dress.

When hearing a large sigh of relief, Naruto, Mira, and Lucy sweatdrop looking over at Natsu, Happy, and Gray. "Serious guys, you two freak out just at the sight of her, dattebayo."

"Because she is scary as hell!" Natsu, Gray, and Happy yell out.

"Well if you three did not act like idiots it would help!" Naruto yells back. "And you wonder why she whips your asses?!"

Before either could retort an explosion of sand at the center of the group catches everyone off guard. Coughing and slowly standing from the smoke Gray looks around in annoyance; "What now?"

"HAPPY!" Natsu quickly stand looking around frantically.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The said blue feline only mumbles while being held over an unlit campfire. Around him as several shady looking people. Two identical twin brothers almost drool; "Finally we get to have some protein!"

"No barriers for us today!" The other twin rubs his hand together.

"No, 'your asses are getting kicked six ways to Sunday' is on you menu, dattebayo!"

Looking up, Happy's kidnapers see the feline's friends glaring down at them. Fire appearing on Natsu's clinched fist as he growls; "You assholes better hand over Happy before I really get angry!"

Ice forms on Gray's hands; "I say we just go with Naruto's plan. Let's kick their ass!"

Before the would be kidnappers knew what hit them, they are getting thrashed by an angry Naruto, Natsu, and Gray. At the same time, Lucy and Mira untie and free a very relieved Happy who hugs the white haired beauty as she returns it. The ladies glare over as the boys tying up the five Mages to a tree.

"Lu… Lulla-" The short bald gray skinned Mage mumbles.

Walking over, Lucy kneels down beside a standing Naruto; "What did you say?"

"Lullaby…"

Naruto's danger senses scream as he grabs Lucy, while Natsu and Gray also jump out of the way as a shadowed hand runs over the ground. The five Mages pale as the shadow hand appears underneath them and closes. In seconds they, along with the tree is pulled into the ground.

"What the hell was that!?" Natsu and Naruto yell out.

Mira runs over helping Lucy while Gray looks from side to side; "Whoever or whatever that was they moved fast."

Flying over, Happy lands on the buxom blond's shoulder; "You okay Lucy?"

Mira and Naruto look at each before looking back to the hole in the earth. _Something is going on… And it will happen soon. _


	4. The right team I think

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

_Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up._

Beta: Etheral-23 &amp; Godospartan the kitsune

A/N: To readers, I and Etheral-23 have both agreed in expanding the Fairy Tail universe. By bringing in other different races along with OC missions, we hope this brings more fun and enjoyment to this story. We plan to add new concepts and characters that go beyond the franchise on a grand scale. Hope you like! One more thing, Unlike the Canon in the manga Naruto was adopted by Tsunade Senju when he was twelve after they just brought her back. So Naruto had an actual mother figure in his life.

Chapter 4: The right team, I think…

With a small sigh, Naruto sits at his desk in his room, wearing simple sweats and a shirt, looking at the partial blank note paper he has stared at for almost thirty minutes. Absently his pen, which is in between his fingers, taps the wooden surface. How in the hell did that old pervert do this so freaking easily?

The room itself shows how different both he and Mirajane are in respects. While for the take-over mage, her room is both warm and heartfelt. The blond Uzumaki keeps things to the essentials needed to make a room.

He did remember a time when his room was not so tidy, neat, and clean. A shiver runs down his spines as the sound of popping knuckles course through his memory.

_Like hell I'll have my son live like some filthy gutter rat! This room better be spotless or no ramen for an entire year!_

Absolute blasphemy, taking away the food of the gods, but he was far more terrified of Tsunade's wrath not to try to even call her bluff. Naruto will always love her for becoming his mother when no one else would, but damn she could be scary as hell.

He ignores the small pang in his heart of his adopted mother when hearing the old fox snort; **"And what pray tell would you have in regaining upon returning to that wretched place?"**

_Aren't you even a tad homesick? For two years I have looked all over Earthland to…_

**"To keep your little promises…"** Almost a snarl that Naruto could feel the eyes rolling with.

_They're important to me…_

**"And why would I want to go back to a world where selfish ningen feel it is within their rights to used me as a weapon. I like it here, no one knows I even exist; no one is hunting me down. Why would I want to leave?"** The Kyuubi's tails sway; **"And can you honestly say to me you do as well?"**

Naruto does not answer him.

**"Because, deep down, you value this place more than you ever did that village and its people"**

_That's… Not true…._

The old fox chuckles in amusement; **"How long did it take you to make that cesspool of a village acknowledge your very existence? To actually have them to love and respect you, and not have them keep on viewing you as me? But the very moment you arrived in Earthland and that guild, you were accepted unconditionally, even that little vixen you share this place with. She went beyond what any in Konoha ever did."**

_Shut up..._

**"You want nothing more than to forget that place. But those 'promises' you made to your friends and teachers hold you back. You want to forget them, to finally be free of them, and rid of it."**

_Shut up!_

A loud shriek makes the blond jump, returning out of his internal debate with the Kyuubi, as he notices he has left his room and just started entering the bathroom. But his body is literally frozen as his cheeks are pure crimson while his shocked cerulean is fixed to an equally shocked moonlight blue.

Coming out of the bathtub without even a towel to barely covering herself, is a very wet, very naked Mirajane who is looking at him with the biggest blush on her face. The blond couldn't help but see the water dripping down the every curve of her body, her wet hair sticking to her skin and-

Next thing he knew, a torrent of water launches him across the room.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the morning is another usual day in Fairy Tail. However, everyone only glances at the odd sight near the bar. Lucy leans over to a sitting Cana whispering; "Did something happen?"

The sight they see is Naruto, sitting at the far very end of the bar with Mira's midnight blues glaring over in his direction while cleaning a dirty mug. Naruto's head is slumped, momentarily looking over at Mira, he's about to say something but Mirajane's sudden 'No' makes his mouth close and his head to bow down once more.

Macao leans over to his longtime friend Wakaba at their usual table; "A little Lover's spat?"

"They would have to be lovers first for there to be an actual spat." He points out dryly.

"Come on, it's obvious to anyone but them." Trying to state the obvious without either hearing was a challenge as it was so obvious.

"True…"

_And here I was trying to create a scene in the next book where the friend walks in on the girl as she comes out of the shower…_ He hears, in the back of his mind, the fox laughing at him. For which he has done since last night and this morning. _Oh shut up furball!_

"Mira-chan, three beers, over here please!" A guild member calls out at a table.

Instantly her face brightens, as Mira smiles like always; "Coming right up!" Placing three filled mugs of cold beer on a tray, she walks past the blond Uzumaki who shrinks more under her passing glare.

Deciding it was better for her own sanity not to know, Lucy walks over to the request board beside Nab. Her brown eyes scan over several open jobs, looking for the highest reward, and little risk of life. Although one job made both her and the tribal guild member blink and pale as they look at each other.

"Slaying a devil in an active volcano?" They say in unison. Both nod as they forget they ever saw that and look around again.

Sitting at table near by the request board, Natsu grumbles and sighs, resting his chin on the table top, while Happy sits by him eating a fish. "We really need to find some work."

"Aye, we're running out of food money."

Lucy only glares over; "I told you we should have taken that two million jewel reward money."

Getting out of his funk, Naruto looks over; "It just wouldn't have been right Lu-Chan. You know that."

"I know." The buxom blond slumps. "But I have this month's rent I need to worry about, and it would be wrong to ask for your help again Naru." She looks back to the board. "There are definitely a lot of different types of jobs to take."

Walking back over with an empty tray, Mira smiles; "If you find anything please let me know. Master is away to a conference meeting of the guild masters." The former 'S' class wizard glances to Naruto who freezes; "I forgive you." Immediately the Uzumaki sighs in relief.

Blinking, the buxom blond looks over seeing the empty spot where the miniature master normally sits. "Huh, it's strange not seeing him here."

"About once a month the guild masters around the regions come together and report the goings on in their respected guild," Naruto comments.

Mirajane takes over; "It's a lot different than the Council meetings of Era." Realizing she might need help in explaining this, she walks over to the tall rotund man, wearing a white form fitting shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Black pants with pointy brown shoes, shoulder length orange hair with a wizard's hat on his head. "Reedus-San, can I borrow a light pen?"

"Oui." The large man smiles gently with item in hand.

Taking the pen with a polite 'thank you', Mira beings to write in the air a magical diagram; "We have the government which the Magic council's ten members have strong ties with." Mira lets her words sink for her blond friend. "They hold the highest position in the Magic World, and exist to preserve the order. They trial mages who have commit crimes in the guild" She explained. "Guild Masters are right beneath them, it is their job to smooth the relations between guilds across the province. And to notify their guilds about Council decisions, as well as bringing them together"

Naruto looks over. "It's no easy job Lu-Chan."

"I... Really had no idea every guild is all connected to one another." Lucy looks at the magical diagram.

Mira crosses her arms under her bust, smiling. "These connections are vital between all the guilds. Cause if there not..." She trails off.

Lucy looks at Mira curiously till- "**That's when the men in black show up**." Natsu says in an evil tone right in the buxom blond's ear.

The Celestial Mage squeals, nearly jumping out her stool in fright with a loud 'EEEK!'

"HAHAHA..!" Natsu bursts out laughing. "She said 'EEEK!' What are you getting scared of?! That was almost too easy!"

A tick mark forms on her forehead. "Don't scare me like that!"

_She kinda set herself up for that one_ Naruto absently thought as the Kyuubi snorts.

"Well nothing like that." Mira sweatdrops at Natsu's antics; "But there are bad people in guilds no longer apart of the league. Those are called 'Dark Guilds." She writes the name beside her diagram handing back the pen to Reedus.

"Those guys don't follow any of the laws made by the council." Natsu speaks up getting an 'Aye' from Happy.

"Basically their outlaws Lu-chan." Naruto finishes sipping his mug.

"They'd come to recruit Natsu any day then." She mumbles under her breath. Thinking about the pink haired boy's attitude towards authority.

"Anyway~." Natsu smiles with his hands behind his head. "Why don't you choose a job already?"

"We chose one without consulting you last time." Added Happy while flying around. "So it's your turn to pick, Lucy"

"Stop kidding around!" She turns away indignantly. "We're splitting up." She said with a tone of finality.

Natsu tilts his head in confusion; "Why?" Happy does the same with while saying 'Aye'.

She runs a hand over her forehead; "You would have chosen any blond girl! You guys tried to sucker me if not for Naru and Mira-Chan."

"Well that's true..." Natsu muses.

This only serves to irritate further her as she shouts; "SEE?!"

Natsu only smiles toothily; "Though we you chose you to be in the team because you're a really nice person." Lucy blushes at his words.

Naruto notices the look Mirajane was giving the two. A sense of dread runs down his spine. _Oh crap_ He thought. _She's in matchmaker mode..._

Taking a light drag from his cigarette, Gray, shirtless, looks over; "You know Lucy, you don't have to force yourself into any team you know." He pauses. "Heard you did a hell of a job with that Everlue creep. Maybe we could try a team up once."

With that Loke walks over putting on some charm. "Would you like to join me Lucy? Could make a team of love for the night."

Lucy looks at both dryly. "Uh... No thanks."

"You defeated two guys from the mercenary guild's Southern Wolves and a gorilla-like woman right?" Says the Ice-Mage. "You're amazing"

"Natsu and Naru are the ones who did that." She points out. "I just took out that perverted toad."

Lucy sweatdrops as Gray immediately stands up to Natsu, growling; "That was you, you bastard?!"

Natsu glares at the ice wizard and their foreheads are touching. "Got a problem with it?!"

_It's like they're just looking for excuses to fight…_ Lucy sweatdrops as Natsu and Gray glare at each other.

"Uh, Gray… Your pants." Mira chirps happily.

Looking down, the ice mage's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets; "WHAT THE HELL!? NOT AGAIN!"

"Jeez, you're a pain in the ass." Natsu looks dryly.

"What did you call me you flaming piece of shit?!" And again their foreheads clash, fists clenching.

"A massive pain in the ass you perverted punk!" Their magical auras were flaring for all to see.

The two roll around the guild beating each other senseless. Much to the guild's amusement.

Loke suddenly approaches Lucy, his 'charm' making sparkles around his face. "You're really beautiful. Even looking through the dark shades of my sunglasses, you're still so beautiful..." He places his hands on her shoulders. Though Lucy does not even react to his advances. "If I'd look at you with my naked eyes, they'd probably shatter in to pieces"

"Then please take those of." She deadpans.

Naruto snorts as he chuckles; _she is just not into you Loke_. Looking to Mira he soon sweatdrops seeing her glaring at the playboy; _looks like she has her plan set, matchmaker wise. Kami help them._

Hearing a clinking sound, Loke looks down he freezes as he jumps back from the Buxom blond; "Y... You're a celestial mage!?"

Happy nods; "Uh huh. She has a bull, a crab, and a big fish."

Lucy glares over. "It's a mermaid you furball!"

"What a twist of fate!" Loke shouts. He suddenly begins running away from her. "Sorry! But this is the end of us!"

Lucy sweatdrops at that dramatic exit. "When was there ever an us?"

"Loke is not very good at dealing with celestial mages." Mirajane says sheepishly.

"Huh?"

"I bet it happened in the past involving a girl"

Naruto mumbles quietly. "With how he is, I wouldn't be surprised"

As the guild soon starts laughing at Natsu and Gray -in only his undies-, fighting all over the guild. Lucy soon joins in until Loke kicks open the front double doors; "I'VE GOT BAD NEWS!"

Everyone looks to him as he catches his breathe, terror visible on his facial features; "It's Erza! She's on her way here!"

The entire guild turns into sheer fright save Naruto, Mirajane, and an obviously confused buxom blond. Lucy looks in shock as both Natsu and Gray scream in terror.

Everyone soon hears echoing footsteps marching forward to the guild. Sitting beside Wakaba, the young gorgeous Laki shakes a little; "That's got to be her."

"Sounds like her footsteps." Wakaba quietly mutters fiddling with his pipe nervously.

Macao just stares ahead. "Even the airs gone cold."

"Geez, the way everyone acts, you'd think she was some kinda monster or something," Lucy sweatdrops.

"Well she is the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, and can be more than a little intimidating," Mirajane explains.

Lucy's imagination takes over as she looks visibly terrified, Naruto only sighs just shaking his head while Mira giggles beside him.

But soon, what Lucy sees is nothing compared to what her imagination brings up; a beautiful young red-haired woman dressed in armor entering the Guild. Lucy immediately recognized her as Erza Scarlet from Naruto's henge of her, the 'Fairy Queen Titania'. She presented an imposing sight, as the woman simply exuded confidence and might.

Or it could have been the gigantic ornate horn she was easily carrying over her shoulder with one hand.

"I have returned." Said Erza, dropping the horn with a thundering sound that made the whole floor tremble. "Is the master present at the moment?"

"Welcome back!" Mirajane smiles brightly.

"Yo, Erza-Chan." Naruto greets her with a smile and his mug rose. "Old man is at the regular meeting"

"I see..." Obviously she doesn't like that news.

A guild member close to Erza braves a question; "So...Erza, what's that humungous thing you got there?"

"The horn of a monster that I defeated. The townspeople were so grateful they decorated it for me." The redhead looks over to the man. "Got a problem with it?"

"Oh no, no problem at all!" The entire guild waves their hands frantically.

Cana leans beside Macao in a hush whisper. "Bet she got word about Mt. Hakobe~."

"You think so? Oh, I am dead man..." The likelihood of that had his skin start losing color.

Lucy tilts her head; "She's not like anything I'd imagined."

Naruto only snorts;_ just give her a minute. Lu-Chan will see why these guys are so terrified of her._

"Now listen up!" Erza voice sharp and steely as the majority -save two- nearly stands at attention.

"I've heard Fairy Tail has been causing problems again." She said sternly. "Even if Master forgives you, I certainly won't!" She turns to certain members of the Guild one by one. "Cana, that's an inappropriate drinking posture. Vijeeter, if you're going to dance, please do it outside. Wakaba, your cigarette butts are all over the floor, and get rid of that filthy habit! Nab, are you still hanging around the board? Just pick a job already!" Everyone just lets their heads fall, an aura of submission and depression hovering over them.

Erza sighs rubbing her forehead; "You give me so much trouble. But I won't say anymore for today."

Lucy stares at her in fright. "Is she in charge of discipline or something?"

"She's Erza." Said Happy, as if that explained everything.

Naruto shrugs; "She's cool when you get to know her"

"Even if she is kinda bossy, she is still saner then most everyone else here." Lucy mutters quietly.

Her fellow blond looks at her with playful mock hurt at her; "Lu-chan, you wound me." The said buxom blond rolls her eyes lightly giggling along with Mira.

Erza looks around. "Is Natsu and Gray here?"

What she got made both Naruto and Mira sweatdrop as Lucy just gawks. With their arms around the other's shoulder. Both Natsu and Grays robotically shake hands with the other.

"Oh... H...Hey Erza, me an Natsu are just hanging out. Doing what good friends do. Right buddy?" Gray says nervously.

"AYE!" Said someone other than the flying feline.

"NATSU TURNED INTO ANOTHER HAPPY?!" Lucy jaw drops.

"Yeah, Natsu and Gray are terrified of Erza." Naruto said.

Mira begins drawing in the air once again with the borrowed light pen again; "Here, I'll explain it with this chart." Both Naruto and Lucy sweatdrop at the terrible quality of the drawings.

"Y-You don't need to..."

"Basically..." Began Naruto. "She beat the crap out of Natsu when he challenged her once. She found Gray naked once and beat him up too. Loke hit on her once and nearly killed him... seriously."

Lucy pales as the redhead crosses her arms grinning contently at Natsu and Gray; "That's great. It's good to see you two getting along so well. However, it is only natural for the best of friends to lock horns from time to time."

"I don't know if we're the best of friends..." Gray mutters.

Getting a weak 'Aye' from Natsu, Lucy only looks at the dragon slayer with genuine concern; "What the heck, is Natsu really that terrified?"

"You don't know the half of it..." Naruto mutters.

"Anyways. I actually have a favor to ask both of you." Her words surprise them. "I heard something troubling at work. Usually, I would consult Master about this, but I regard this matter as urgent, so... I need your help. You'll come with me, right?"

Not only were Gray and Natsu stunned, but nearly the entire guild as well. Murmurs are heard all across the hall.

"This is the first time she's asked to be teamed with someone..."

"And she's someone who can kill such enormous monsters..."

Naruto frowns grimly; "For Erza to have asked for help..."

But what she says next outright stuns the young Sennin even more when the redhead looks over to him; "Naruto, I also require your aid as well."

No one really notices Mira freeze for moment by those words before she continues working again.

"Uh... alright?" Was the only thing he could say.

Titania nods. "Good. We'll leave tomorrow, prepare yourselves"

"I never said I'd come!" Natsu burst angrily.

The dragon slayer's words go unheard as Erza already has left the guild to prepare. No one really paying attention to Natsu and gray bickering again while Cana just looks on stunned; "Naruto, Natsu, Gray, and Erza all in one team."

"Not sure if I should be terrified or what..." Macao mutters Wakaba nods absently to his old friend.

None seeing the small tremble in Mirajane's hands as she holds a glass.

XxX ~ Magnolia Station: Next day ~ XxX

As the morning hustle and bustle is underway at the station, most avoid, while others try not to stare at, the open glaring match between the residential fire dragon slayer and ice mage. Natsu as usual wearing his normal clothes and scarf, while Gray is thankfully clothed, with a white long coat with blue lining over his shirt.

"Why the hell do I have to team with you?" The rosette haired man growls.

Gray's eye twitches; "That's my line fire breath! If Erza really needs help, all she needs is just me!"

The two literally but heads with sparks flying in all directions. "Then you go with her! I don't wanna!"

"Then don't! Will be laughing my ass off when Erza beats your sorry hide all over town!" The ice-mage smirks.

Sitting on a bench Lucy, wearing an orange sleeveless top, and a blue jean mini skirt with keys and whip attached just sighs in exasperation with Plue sitting on her lap. On her right, Happy eats a fish without a care in the world. As the fire and ice mage get more rowdy a tick mark forms on the busty blond's head.

"WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP?! YOU'RE ALREADY CAUSING A SCENE!" She huffs crossing her arms under her generous cleavage. "Geez, why can't you two get along with each other?"

Hearing a snort to her left she sees Naruto in his usual get up, sitting beside her leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He looks dryly at Natsu and Gray; "If that actually happens, Lu-Chan, the sky might fall."

Looking at her fellow blond, her almond eyes notice a familiar trinket hanging off Naruto's neck. "Is that Mira-Chan's necklace?"

His cerulean eyes gaze downward to the necklace in question. His memories of last night still vivid to him.

XxX ~ the Night before ~ XxX

_As the guild closed up for the night, both Naruto and Mirajane returned home for some supper. Being it was the blond's this week to cook; he made a full spread of a Senju style meal Tsunade taught him. Since becoming her son, the Senju made sure he ate right and knew how to make meals for himself._

_As much has he complained through the entire ordeal, he grew to love it. After sitting down at their table the blond notices Mira being more quiet than her usual self and playing with her food. "What's wrong?"_

_The former 'S' class wizard slowly locks eyes with him; "Asking for Natsu's and Gray's help, I know Erza means this is serious. But to also ask you too? We both know how she is, Erza is not one to ask help for usually anything. But to ask Natsu and Gray, plus 'you'? How dangerous is this mission?"_

_Naruto wasn't as dense as when he was a brat hearing the strong tremble of concern in his roommate's voice. Still, he gives a wry smile; "I doubt it's really that bad. Granted, Erza-Chan always means business, being how serious she always is. But considering it's the four of us, whatever the problem is, it should be easy."_

_The busty white haired beauty leans in. "But what if it's not? What if you… Everyone gets badly hurt?"_

_"It will be alright. You're just scaring yourself." He places his hands on her slender shoulders. "We won't get hurt and everyone will be back by the next day." Letting go of her shoulders, he watches her unclasp her necklace and leans her arms over with the item in her palm._

_"Then wear this for me… For good luck, it will make me feel better…"_

_"But Mira-chan this is yours." He says softly._

_Naruto watches as she simply puts her necklace on him. "Till you get back. It's yours."_

XxX ~ Present ~ XxX

Blinking, the young Sennin looks to Lucy; "Why are you tagging along?"

"Mira-chan wanted me to keep an eye on those two." The busty blond slumps, pointing to Natsu and Gray.

_Okay… You really are being way too cautious Mira-Chan;_ Naruto lifts a brow hearing a snort from the old fox.

**"Fact she gives a damn about your worthless hide, I will never know…"**

_I love you too furball…_

Happy talks with his mouth full; "You're not doing a good job Lucy." Taking out the fish the cat smirks; "You just wanted to come with us didn't you?"

"NO WAY!" The buxom blond stands glaring at Natsu and Gray; "Someone needs to be their mediator."

Naruto holds his chest in mock hurt; "Ouch Lu-chan…" She just rolls her eyes at him smirking his way.

"You I don't worry about." She looks back to the dragon slayer and ice mage, as Gray bickers about Natsu's sleep bag. A deep mischievous smile crosses Lucy's lips.

She quickly spins around waving at no one; "HEY! Erza, this way."

The reaction is so priceless Naruto falls over laughing with Happy and Plue mimicking them. In an instant both Natsu and Gray are dancing around with their arms over the other's shoulder.

"Let's be nice to each other eh, good buddy?" Gray says in overly joyful tone.

"AYE, aye sir!"

Lucy just holds her sides laughing as hard as Naruto. "This is too funny!"

Both ice and fire mages freeze up as they quickly turn and gawk at the buxom blond; "YOU TRICKED US!" they say together.

Getting off the ground, along with Happy and Plue Naruto still chuckles. "She got you two good, dattebayo!" He gets an 'Aye sir' from Happy who snickers.

"Maybe you guys really do get along after all." Lucy giggles.

Gray scoffs; "Like hell we are, do we seriously have to go? My stomach is starting to hurt."

"Want a fish?" Happy asks on Naruto's shoulder.

"NO WAY!"

Natsu lifts an eyebrow; "Why are you coming along Lucy?"

"Weren't you listening to me and Naru earlier!?"

"Sorry if I was a keeping everyone waiting." The voice of Erza catching Naruto's a Lucy's attention. The buxom blond jaw drops seeing the redhead dragging a large wagon with luggage upon luggage tied to rope.

"D… Don't you think that's a bit too much luggage?" Lucy squeaks out. She soon sweatdrops seeing Natsu and gray acting like best friends again with the fire dragon slayer said 'aye'. "Honestly Natsu, one Happy is enough…"

The redhead looks over to the young Sennin; "Naruto, would be so kind?"

Nodding, the blond Uzumaki walks over to Erza's wagon pulling out a scroll. Shifting her almond eyes, the redheaded knight sees Lucy. "You were in Fairy Tail yesterday correct?"

The Celestial Mage bows respectfully; "I am a new member. My name is Lucy. Mira-Chan asked me to tag along. I hope to be of some help."

A small warm smile crosses Erza's lips; "It's nice to meet you. I'm Erza, and more the merrier."

Hearing a 'poof' sound both ladies look back where the redhead's luggage was… Lucy does a double take seeing it all vanish as Naruto stands tying his scroll. He spins the small item through his fingers before putting it into his pocket. "All done Erza-Chan."

The buxom blond points a shaky finger; "Where… Where did the entire luggage and wagon go?"

Erza smirks; "Naruto can make storage dimensions similar to Re-Equip. It's quite handy"

"Storage seals. Never leave home without them." The Sennin chuckles. "It's a part of that Fūinjutsu stuff I explained a few weeks ago."

The Celestial wizard nods dumbly as recognition sparks in Erza's mind. "I remember now. You're the one who fought a giant mercenary gorilla single handed... We'd welcome you on the team."

Lucy blanches as Naruto holds his sides laughing. "T-That was Natsu and Naru." She says sheepishly. "And those facts are somewhat twisted..."

"This mission might be a bit risky." Erza says. "But seeing how you did on the last job, I think you'd be okay"

"Risky?" Lucy asks.

Natsu looks sharply at Erza; "I really don't know what the hell we're doing. But I will help, under one condition!"

Erza gazes over to him; "A condition, Natsu?"

"Idiot! Do you have a death wish or something?" Gray harshly whispers to the dragon slayer.

Naruto, already having a good idea of what Natsu's condition would be, only sighs. "He never changes..." He says shaking his head.

"Aye!" Happy says.

"Name it." Erza says with stony expression.

"When we get back..." Natsu begins his voice resolute. "Fight me. I'm different from back then. I'll prove it by defeating you!"

Lowering her head, a small smile forms. "Well, you have improved, that is true. I feel somewhat at a disadvantage, but alright." Erza looks back up with a determined gaze. "I accept you challenge."

"What do you mean you're at a disadvantage?!" Natsu shouts fiercely. "Fight me seriously!"

Erza chuckles; "I know... But you have gotten stronger. I just wanted to say it." She gazes to Gray; "Would also like to face me again?"

Lucy never seen the ice mage back down so fast from a challenge, shaking his head in almost a blur. "No, I'm good!"

Erza looks to Naruto; "You up for another go?"

The blond Sennin snorts while grinning. "Sure, why not?" He replies. "Someone has to keep you two from wrecking everything around you." He'd probably only add more destruction to the mess. But he didn't care. Fighting Natsu and Erza was too much fun.

"YOSH!" Natsu's head literally bursts into flames. "Now I'm all fired up baby!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the train leaves the station with the whistle blares. The group sits comfortably with Lucy, Gray, and Naruto in one seat, and Erza, Natsu, and Happy on the other.

With Gray looking out the window watching the passing scenery, Natsu munching down on some food along with Happy. Erza, in a much more class, eating a slice of cakes with a fork. The blond Uzumaki naps quietly while Lucy taps her chin; "Now thinking about it. Other than Naru's jutsu, I have only seen Natsu's magic." She looks to the redhead; "What magic do you use Erza-San?"

"Just Erza please…"

"Erza's magic is really beautiful. When she uses it bad guys start spitting blood!" Happy comments cheerfully.

The buxom blond sweatdrops; "That hardly sounds beautiful."

"I don't really consider it anything special… If anything, Gray's is the most beautiful I have ever seen."

Mentioning of his name Gray looks over; "You think so?" Extending his hand with his right fist over his open left palm. Light glows in his closed hand. Lucy soon sees her own breath feeling a chill around them.

The light fading an opening his hand, Lucy sees a small ice sculpture of the Fairy Tail insignia. A bright smile lights up Lucy's lips, "Wow, ice magic!"

"Despite his nudist habits…" Naruto speaks up opening one eye to Lucy. "Gray is a very solid mage and fighter."

Gray smirks, crossing his arms as Lucy gazes at him and Naruto; "Have you and Gray ever fought Naru?"

"More sparring than fighting. Never had much grief with Uzumaki." The raven haired man shrugs.

The buxom blond snaps her fingers; "That's it!" She gains everyone's attention. "The reason why Gray and Natsu don't get along is become one is fire, the other is ice!"

Fully awake, Naruto and Erza look at one another while Natsu and Gray wave a hand dismissively; "Nah, I just hate his guts." They say together without realizing it.

XxX ~ Unknown location ~ XxX

Walking through a crumbling shrouded hallway, several figures make their way to the door and their ultimate glory.

"I should have hit on that smoking hot redhead back at that bar. By Kami she was fucking gorgeous!" A man speaks up in the group.

"What guild was she from?" Another man asks.

"Hell if I know; was too busy imaging her out of that damn armor she wore."

Another man scoffs. "You would not even have a chance to get into her panties."

"Oh fuck off." The first man snarls before speaking again. "And where the hell is Kageyama?"

A man wearing a jacket with a stripe hood rolls his eyes; "Breaking that seal is anything but easy, so can't be helped."

At the head of the group, a tall shirtless man wearing a long scarf, tribal tattoos on his chest, and a scythe leaning comfortably on his shoulders chuckles; "Now, now gentlemen. Our victory is almost at hand. The window of opportunity is small, so we cannot afford any errors." The man looks back to his men with a murderous smile. "Those geezers are at their annual conference. The time is now!"

XxX ~ and Then ~ XxX

"So Erza, mind telling us what we're doing here?" Gray's question gaining everyone's attention. "Fill us in on the details. You needing help is rare as is. So what gives?"

The beautiful redhead nods; "Yes, I should begin explaining. On my way back home I stopped into a mage's pub in Onibas. It was there some certain suspicious people caught my eye." Her almond eyes grow sharp. "They are from the Eisenwald dark guild. And they were speaking of an item called Lullaby."

Naruto, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, and Gray's eyes widen; "Lullaby!?"

Erza looks at them in small confusion; "You're all aware of it?"

"We ran into some goons who tried to eat Happy. Once we beat them all, one of those guys kept muttering something about Lullaby." Naruto gives the rundown.

As the train passes over a bridge, Erza nods in understanding; "I see, so you've also encountered Eisenwald as well."

Gray scratches his head; "Well we did not really know where they were from at the time."

"Bastards were trying to cook Happy. Showed them not mess with us." Natsu snarls a little. "But those guys did mention some Lullaby thingy."

Naruto crosses his arms tilting his head. "Defectors maybe?"

"They could have left Eisenwald. It's always possible." Erza nods in agreement. "Perhaps they did not agree with whatever the plan their guild is making?"

Gray rubs his chin in curiousity. "Okay, so this is something so bad even dark mages run like hell from it."

Erza explains in perfect detail all she heard from the people in the pub. From Lullaby to a man named Kageyama who is apparently able to break magic seals. Which one was placed upon this item in question by the magic council, so there was no need to say how dangerous Lullaby truly is.

Still, Gray tried waving it off. "Erza, you know this could be nothing right? Maybe these guys only just wanted to break the seal for some job of theirs?"

"I thought so too, and would have dismissed it till they said a name that caught my attention. A name I did not recognize till I left Onibas, 'Erigor'."

"Who?" The question rings from Natsu, Gray, and Lucy.

"Erigor the Shinigami and ace of Eisenwald." Naruto speaks up this time. "Jiji told me about him. This guy only accepted missions that were assassinations." The blond crosses his arms closing his eyes.

Disgust wrinkles Lucy's face; "He only took jobs that killed people!?"

"The council had outlawed those contracts, but Eisenwald did not agree with that and thus became a dark guild six years ago." Erza explains.

Holding Plue on her lap, the buxom blond shakes. "I should have just stayed home."

"You're making a lot of juice Lucy." Happy quirks.

"It's sweat!"

Clinching her armor gauntlet, Erza nearly snarls; "I was careless. If I had only recognized Erigor's name sooner. I could have forced those guys into confessing their real intent!"

Lucy pales while Gray speaks up looking out the window; "So Eisenwald and Erigor have some big plan with this Lullaby thing." He looks back to Erza; "Obviously they want to do something bad, so you want to stop it right?"

"Yes…"

No one really attention to the blond Uzumaki as a red tint begins to cover his eyelids. The moment he achieves Sennin mode his closed eyes narrow as a frown wrinkles his face.

"This is why I asked for help. I don't think I would be enough to face a dark guild alone. We're going to storm the Eisenwald guild!"

Natsu taps his chin; "May not really get this Lullaby thing. But if you say there are a lot bad guys that need a good thrashing I am all for it."

He really is that simple minded, Lucy thinks dryly.

Gray smirks; "Well sounds like fun to me." He gets an 'aye from Happy.

XxX ~ Onibas Station ~ XxX

As their train stops at their destination; Erza, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy get off. The dragon slayer stretches his arms; "Man I am so glad Naruto put that seal on my neck. I can ride anything now and not get motion sickness!"

Gray looks to Erza; "You're sure Eisenwald is still here?"

"I don't know. But better to retrace my steps and find out." The armored woman spoke up as she tried to remember those steps specifically.

"Uh, guys?" Everyone looks to Lucy. "Where is Naruto?"

Hearing the whistle of the train, every turns around sharply gawking as the train they came in on is already gone. "There it goes..." Happy nearly whispers.

The beautiful redhead rubs the back of her head awkwardly; "I was so absorbed in our talk I did not notice Naruto did not leave with us."

Natsu lifts a brow. "Why did he stay on the train?"

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

Sitting like a statue, Naruto keeps his eyes close and arms crossed, hearing footsteps coming his way. Walking through the empty train car a man in a white suite, with a red shirt and white coat over it nears over to the blond Uzumaki. "This seat taken?" He asks in calm voice.

The blond shrugs; "Not currently." The red tint gone, as he opens his cerulean eyes. He mentally gawks seeing nearly the splitting image of Shikamaru right in front of him. This guy even has the hair in the same freaking pineapple ponytail!

"Could not help but notice your friends all had the Fairy Tail insignia. So, guess that means you too eh?" Shikamaru's doppelganger smirks as he sits in front of Naruto.

"And from the malicious presence you're giving off I'd say you are from Eisenwald eh?" the young Sennin does not miss a beat. "It's damn funny, you almost look like a friend of mine, save the fact he is the laziest bastard I have ever known."

The man shrugs; "Don't know about your old buddy. But I have heard of this spiky haired blond with whisker marks, calls himself the Sage of Fairy Tail, Naruto Uzumaki." The man leans in with a dark smile; "Because I'd love to kick his ass… Kageyama is the name."

Within the split second of that greeting, Kageyama activates his magic, a large amount of shadow hands ripping the seat under Naruto as they try to skewer him. Naruto, however, was no longer in his seat, only a puff of smoke replacing him, having switched with a hidden Shadow Clone.

Kageyama could only look in shock at that, wondering when Naruto had the time to react, only to have the back of his head kicked forward from behind, the real Naruto leaning over the seat formerly occupied by the dark mage, who lands on all fours and jumps up to his feet, gaining some distance. "Heh, not bad."

Grinning, Naruto just waved his hand dismissively. "Well, considering you're from Eisenwald, I am not likely to be taking chances. You guys do specialize in assassinations, after all. Guard up at all times." Looking a little more seriously, the blond had to ask. "So, tell me.. What has you on the train out of town? I thought you guys were still looking for Lullaby back in the other town..."

The Shikamaru doppelganger shadow user knew his magic wasn't going to do much of anything against someone who's reputation was very well proceeded, he is nearly even on par with the three actual mages who were the greatest of the guild itself. He would have to use something most mages were not very well known for, hand to hand combat.

Running forward, Kageyama flings a straight left jab at Naruto, who didn't except this sudden attempt at physical combat arts, and dodges backwards, rolling off the seat and flipping himself up in the air. The dark mage steps up on the seat and jumps forward with an uppercut, trying to get at Naruto before he can get back on his feet.

The blond Sage, who pushed himself up and flipped right side up, catches the uppercut from the doppelganger of his friend, and as his body was pushed back from the uppercut, he kicks up, snapping at Kageyama with a fierce rolling side-kick.

Not suspecting of the blow, Kageyama flies to the side from the kick. Hitting his back against the window, breaking it, he catches himself from falling out of it. Seeing the blonde sage of Fairy Tail correct himself with ease and grace, he could only duck as Naruto jumps at him, flipping backwards with a rising uppercut kick that tore the top of the window above him out, and the luggage flying everywhere from the force.

Rolling forward, the shadow mage stands up and throws a couple swift jabs at the recovering Naruto, who lands on his feet and turns to face his adversary. The first jab connects to Naruto's shoulder, but the second gets caught by the blonde and gets pulled, pulling Kageyama with it, until he grabs Kageyama by the collar and twists him around until he throws him into the seats to the side, the seats breaking with the force and collapsing to the next set, which breaks and collapses to the next, over and over until they collapse to the end.

Groaning from the force, Kageyama sits up on the seats and shakes his head. Looking up, he sees Naruto coming at him fast. With little warning, the Shadow mage just acted on instinct, jumping up and throwing a flurry of jabs from both arms, which caught Naruto quite off guard, all punches connecting into the blonde as Kageyama just lays into him.

Just as Kageyama gets into it, and throws a heavy thrusting right punch into Naruto's heart, the Sage of Fairy Tail once again vanished. This shocked Kageyama, who thought he had finally got the advantage in the fight. Hearing a whistle, Kageyama turned to see Naruto coming at him, with a distance covered by their recent tussle thanks to Kageyama not stopping his flurry of jabs until mid-train.

With a small sprint, Naruto lightly leaps forward, his fist rearing back before extending and slamming it into Kageyama's chest. The force sends the man back hitting hard on the train passenger door. Spitting out some blood on the floor, with his back leaning on the door, the dark mage chuckles.

"Heard you were one tough son of a bitch. Glad to know it's not hot air." The shadow mage smirks haughtily. "But you and that little guild of yours can't stop us."

"You never really know till you try, asshole." Walking up to the dark mage, the blonde could only smile as he pops his knuckles in an intimidating way.

Before the dark wizard could retort, the train suddenly breaks jarring both to nearly hit the floor. Instead an object drops from Kageyama's coat that catches Naruto's attention. A flute?

XxX ~ Onibas Station ~ XxX

A station manager only gawks in disbelief along with Lucy and Gray, seeing Erza pulling down on the emergency switch. "What the hell lady! You can't just pull the emergency switch like that!"

The redhead just turns to look at him; "Our friend is in trouble. Please understand."

"That's no convenient excuse!" A tick mark pops from the man's head.

In the background, Natsu only rolls on the ground laughing along with happy. Lucy's eye twitches; "It is official. Everyone in fairy tail is crazy!"

"Hey not all of us." Gray quickly retorts.

The buxom blond just looks at him; "And you call yourself sane when you strip for no reason at all?"

His answer is sharply looking the other way grumbling.

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

It was the ugliest flute the young Sennin has ever seen. With a skull carved at the end with three eyes. Not the most pleasant looking instrument for playing tunes of kicks.

However, his mind puts the pieces together as Kageyama quickly grabs the thing; "Lullaby huh..?"

The train soon restarts it motion as the dark mage smirks; "And now I have to kill you."

"Then bring it!" With a quick move of handseals the Uzumaki takes a deep breath, _**Katon: Karyū Endan!**_

A massive torrent of fire shoots forward as a visibly frightened Kageyama crosses his arms as a mass shadows becomes a shield for him. "SHIT!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Close to the tracks, a magic car with Erza at the helm races towards the train. Inside, Natsu and Lucy watch through the car windows with Happy on the blond's lap, and finally Gray holding onto the car's roof for dear life.

They all look in shock seeing the upper half of a train car explode in flames. Through the black smoke the redhead sees the blond spiky locks of her best friend; "NARUTO!"

As the smoke clears, they see their Uzumaki friend with his hair, headband, and sage coat whipping wildly in the wind. His eyes are forward as Kageyama lowers his shadow wall in exhaustion. _This guy is a stamina freak! Here I am breathing hard and he's not even winded!_

Shifting his cerulean eyes, the blond sees his friends in the magic car racing beside the train. He looks back, leaping to avoid a tendril of shadows coming after him. Dark mage and shinobi only stare at one another before Naruto vanishes via shunshin.

Looking to her left, Erza nearly jumps seeing Naruto sitting beside her. Her reaction is slamming the breaks, which catch Gray off guard as he sent flying forward off the car and slamming into the ground. Inside, Natsu catches Lucy before she hits the front window of the car, though Happy is smashed in between both humans.

Groaning with every movement, Gray painfully stands himself back up, staggering a step or two. Catching his bearings, he growls over to the now parked car; "Damn it Erza, a little warning next time!" his anger vanishes seeing Naruto sitting beside a gawking redhead. "Naruto?"

"Know anyone else more awesome?" Cue an eye roll from the ice mage.

Shaking out of her shock, Erza looks sharply to her friend; "What the hell happened back there?! Explain."

As the Natsu and Lucy got out of the car, with a half knocked silly Happy on the dragon slayer's shoulder, the blond sage begins to tell his encounter with Kageyama. Erza grabs him by the collar when mentioning the flute. "Why didn't you grab it?!"

"He attacked with a bunch of tentacle shadows, I've read those weird manga's about that. Not getting near those things thank you." Shivering at the thought alone, Naruto just let it stand at that.

Lucy sweatdrops with a faint blush. "Why did you read 'those' things?"

"Blame my godfather, the man was the biggest pervert I ever knew. Said it was to broaden my experience. More like scarred for life…" Erza lets him go rolling her eyes.

Gray only sighs; "Where is that train heading anyways?"

"Kunugi station, then to Oshibana," Naruto looks over. He notices Lucy looking deep in thought. "What's wrong Lu-Chan?"

She looks up sharp; "I remember! I knew I heard of Lullaby somewhere. It's death magic!" Everyone's eyes soon focus on her as she goes on; "Four hundred years ago, the demon mage Zeref found a flute, and demonized it. Whoever hears its tune dies instantly!"

"What the hell are those bastards thinking!?" Gray growls before realization hits; "How big is Oshibana?"

The others pale as they realize it to. "They intend to use it on an entire town..." Erza voice trembles with both fright and anger.

However, something keeps nagging Naruto as he can literally hear his former Cyclops Sensei in his head.

_Look underneath the underneath Naruto. A shinobi must always see through the deception to the truth._

Everything Eisenwald has done up to now, it has to be something bigger than killing off an entire town. Erigor may love killing, but he kills for reasons. That much he learned from Makarov-Jiji. But what was it?!

_Just what the hell are you after Erigor?!_

XxX ~ Kunugi Station ~ XxX

People cower together fearfully as members of the Eisenwald guild keeps them tied up at the station. As the train comes to a stop they see Kageyama leap out. A guild member notices how rough up he is. "What the hell happen to you man?"

"I had a run-in with the Fairy Tail guild. That Uzumaki bastard is no joke; guy is a fucking stamina monster." Huffing and catching enough breath to finally calm down, Kageyama walks to his Guild.

Walking through the members with scythe in hand, Erigor stands in front of the shadow mage; "So the sage is onto us?"

"Not just him, looks like four others as well." Kageyama pops his neck, damn that fight was rough.

A dark chuckle comes from the ace of Eisenwald; "No matter… Let those flies keep buzzing. They'll be dead before they even know the truth." His malicious laughter echoes the area with the others soon joining.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

In the deep are of the forest of Clover, the tress rustle gently in the wind. Sunlight shines through the leaves as a grey fox sleeps soundly in the middle of a natural groove, untouched by man. Nestled comfortably, the grey fox is a still as the grass around his.

Neither the sunlight nor wind undisturbed his long rest. In the dream-like sleep he has remained for what has felt like an eternity. In his dreams, the fox felt a presence in the distance. Old, powerful, so very filled with elemental power. Power from a piece of nature itself, a power he had once been very familiar with.

In his dreams, the fox stirred. Outside his dreams, his tail flickered for a single moment before returning to where it was.


	5. The knight and the sage

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Naruto

Betas &amp; Co-authors: Etheral-23 &amp; Godospartan the kitsune –Combat scenes-

Chapter 5: The Knight and the Sage

XxX ~ last time ~ XxX

_In the deep area of the forest of Clover, the trees rustle gently in the wind. Sunlight shines through the leaves as a white fox sleeps soundly in the middle of a natural groove, untouched by man. Nestled comfortably, the white fox is a still as the grass around him._

_Neither the sunlight nor wind undisturbed his long rest. In the dream-like sleep he has remained for what felt like an eternity. In his dreams, the fox felt a presence in the distance. Old, powerful, so very filled with elemental power. Power from a piece of nature itself, a power he had once been very familiar with._

_In his dreams, the fox stirred. Outside his dreams, his tail flickered for a single moment before returning to where it was. _

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the afternoon sun warms the country village of Clover, inside a modest two story build the guild masters of the magic league of Fiore finally have a break for lunch for today. Sitting a table due to his height -or lack of- Makarov shows into some food with a fresh beer in hand.

"I do have to say Makarov! Your wizards are sweethearts and so full of life and cutie as pies," Says a large belly odd bald man by the table wearing a pink dress with blue striped shorts, a ringed necklace, and mage guild symbol on his right bicep.

The Guildmaster of Blue Pegasus, Bob, and yes he really is a man…

"I heard you got this girl who gave some rich fellow quite the spanking for being naughty."

Makarov grunts; "That would be would Lucy you referring to, our newest member. And she has a body literally forged by the gods themselves!"

Bob blushes covering his cheeks; "Mackie you are so naughty." A female Guild Master who was quietly listening nearby sweatdrops.

"I'd lay back on the jokes Makarov," Says a man wearing a simple dark blue shirt and black jeans with a spiked dog collar around his neck. Wearing a black pointy hat also with dog collar at the base, his hair dark blond combed back with rimless rectangle shades over his eyes. The Guildmaster of Quatro Cerberus, Goldmine.

"While your wizards are a spirited bunch, they did get a touch overboard." Goldmine waves a chiding hand. "The council is worried if they are not careful they could blow up an entire city, can't really blame them honestly."

Makarov only scoffs; "let those blowhards worry their panties off, they are only jealous of how many hotties are in my guild."

At this the Cerberus Guildmaster's eye twitches while Bob only giggles at his old time friend's antics. "Oh Mackie you shouldn't talk about your cutie pie wizards that way scoundrel!"

"Master Makarov! Letter for master Makarov," The three turn seeing a small blue bird with a wizard's cap flying over with a letter in its claws. Putting down his beer, the small man lifts his open hand; "You have a letter from Miss Mirajane!"

"Thanks a lot." Dropping the letter the bird flies away as Makarov turns the letter over showing a magic seal. Waving his hand over it a small image of a smiling Mirajane comes into view gathering the attention of quite a few people.

"_Hi master, I am glad you made it to the conference save and sound._" Makarov stands up on the table.

"This is Mirajane, our sweet honey that is our poster girl and barkeep. Grab some eye candy boys!"

A few wolf-whistles are heard while Goldmine looks quite surprised; "That's Mira? She certainly matured since last seeing her."

Mirajane claps her hands together in front of her; "_Oh, you are not going to believe what happened master! This might be the greatest thing to ever happen in Fairy Tail!_"

A goofy grin comes on the old wizard's face; "Really?"

"_Erza, Natsu, and Gray have teamed together. Not only that, Naruto is also with them!" _the former 'S' class wizard said brightly. "_I know you're busy but I wanted to tell you the exciting news! See ya soon!_"

Color literally flees from Makarov's face as his jaw nearly unhinges while his body shakes. "N… N-not those three PLUS Naruto~!" the old man says weakly as Mira's smiling image fades. As it does, Makarov literally falls forward while Goldmine crosses his arms.

"Well my point's been proven…"

"Hahahaha" A male voice chuckled. The three older Masters see a tall man encased in armor sitting at the next table. "Yours is sure a lively bunch. Eh Makarov-dono?" The tall figure donned a gleaming armor of intricately designed silver and orange plates, looking every part the figure of a heroic knight. Complete with a white cape and a helm with a Y shaped visor which only allowed two red irises to be seen.

Makarov lifts his head to gaze at the knight. "Not everyone can have a guild of well-behaved professionals like you Solaris."

The armored man just laughs once more. "While many of my people are former soldiers, I can assure you 'professionals' is not the word I'd use to describe my Sunreavers... neither 'well behaved' for that matter" He pours more beer into his mug, which he proceeds to drink through a straw that fits into the slot of his helmet.

Goldmine sweatdrops. "Does he ever take off that helmet?"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto raised a brow and titled his head as he listened in to the people. "They took over a train" He mused. "It doesn't seem very convenient"

Up on a hill the group sees Fiore troops keeping guard while military investigators looking around. Next to the soldiers standing by the guard, civilians speak loud enough for Naruto and the others to hear.

An elderly man looks to an investigator; "They were led by man with large scythe! They threatened everyone off and left!"

"Why take over a train?" Lucy asks to herself. "It's not really practical if they plan to take over this place"

"A man with a big scythe," Naruto looks to Erza. "Is that Erigor?"

The redhead nods; "Indeed. Looks like we just missed them."

"Well the troops are already here" Lucy tries to add some hope to their situation. "Maybe they'll manage to arrest them before they get away with whatever they're planning"

"Let's hope so" The blonde ninja responded. But inside he knew the truth, things were never that easy.

Gray who sits on the roof of the crosses his arms; "We should check it out to be safe."

"I agree," Erza nods. "Let's follow them."

Natsu punches his fist into his palm; "Bout time! Let's go hunting!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Kageyama explains to his superior the events that had transpired on the train before they arrived. "A mere fly you say huh?" The scythe wielding repeats.

The pony-tailed man nods. "Yeah, he was here a minute ago" He scoffs. "Just a weakling, he was a joke"

A man beside Kageyama could not stop himself; "For a weakling he whooped your ass by the looks of it." a few members chuckle.

"Oh shut up. Uzumaki's not that tough," the shadow mage growls.

Erigor looks at his man in the eye; "Did he see Lullaby?"

Kageyama twitches nervously, he begins sweating, he tries to hide it but his companions see right through him. "Eh, well he..."

Wind rushes around both sides of his head, thing, fast and sharp. They become two blades of pure air which cut and split his ears open. The shadow mage falls to the ground, holding his ears while wailing in pain.

Erigor grunts. "Don't tell me he found out about the flute"

Holding his ears the shadow mage hisses; "He does not have a clue to what we're really doing! It won't stop the plan."

"True, but we won't take any chances. And I won't have any flies buzzing where they are not wanted."

He chuckles while spinning the unholy flute on his hand. "Flies huh..." He muses. "There are some places they shouldn't really be flying about"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

People at a café shop scream and scatter as a magic car makes a wild turn smashing into several tables and chairs. Erza guns the vehicle forward at its tops speed, while Gray holds on for dear life on the roof. Inside, Naruto and the others hang on to something while trying not to become scrambled eggs.

"Damn it Erza slow down! Your overloading the SE plug by forcing your magic into it," Gray literally yells through the wind as he gnashes his teeth.

Her crimson hair whips wildly in the wind as her determined almond eyes stare ahead. "If anyone plays that flute countless lives will be lost. I can't stop no matter what!"

"And if you run out magic before you can even do anything!"

A small smirk graces her lips; "Then as Naruto so aptly puts it, I will just have to 'knuckle up and start swinging'. Besides, I have you, Natsu, and Naruto to back me up."

Inside the car Lucy watches her fellow blond with his arms crossed and his eyes closed being deep in thought. "What's wrong Naruto? You've been quiet for a while now."

The Uzumaki grunts opening his eyes; "Just something my former sensei taught me. 'Look underneath the underneath', never take anything at face value, and with Eisenwald I can't see them just stealing some death flute to kill a townspeople. What would that do other than make them a priority for the Council's forces?"

"If we kick their asses then who cares," Natsu shrugs "We smash that flute, smash some heads and go home."

A dry look comes from the buxom blond beside the dragon slayer. Lucy just shakes her head till noticing Happy tapping his chin in thought on Naruto's shoulder.

"I feel like I had something important I was supposed to tell you Lucy," the blue cat mumbles.

"Oh, what is it?"

"I… don't remember…" Naruto, Natsu, and Lucy sweatdrop, "I just know it was something I was supposed to tell you… What was it…? Um… You're weird?"

"I'M WEIRD!" the buxom blond huffs crossing her arms under her ample bust which only makes Natsu and Naruto snickers. "Pot coal, kettle black you stupid furball!"

XxX ~ Oshibana Station ~ XxX

Parking the magic car at the train station, the Fairy Tail group sees a dozen or so people outside complaining as a man with a bullhorn speaker tries to calm the people.

"What's going on inside?!" The knightess demands from one of the workers.

He only looks at her in confusion. "Huh, who are you-UGH!" He receives a strong headbutt from the redhead.

Naruto sweatdrops. "And I thought I was brash..." They see as the Scarlet beauty continuing headbutting anyone who doesn't give her an immediate answer. "But Erza has no room for waiting"

The buxom blond sweatdrops; "Kinda counterproductive" She gets an 'aye' from Happy.

"Erza's always done things her way," Gray pales seeing another man down.

Before Erza could knock out the last remaining working, they managed to spare him from becoming another casualty brought by the Titania's forehead. He informed them that a platoon of soldiers had gone inside the station but had yet to come out, neither the Dark Guild Eisenwald had been seen coming out from the building either.

The Fairies run inside the station, only to find the beaten bodies of the soldiers in a hallway. None of were dead thankfully, but every soldier was badly beaten to unconsciousness. Flying above everyone Happy looks in shock; "they got whipped really good."

Erza and Naruto look at the scene like solemnly; "they fought an entire magic guild."

"No normal platoon can endure that," Naruto finishes.

Gray grimaces. "We have to hurry!"

They follow the path into the center of the station, they tense upon arriving as they dozens of dark mages standing before a train, with a scythe wielding man sitting on its roof.

"I knew you'd come" The man on the train grins. "Fairy Tail" His companions chuckle darkly, looking at them as they were prey waiting to be slaughtered.

Lucy trembles at the sight. "T-There's so many of them..."

"Welcome to our parlor Fairy Tail flies," the man on the train sneers. "We have been expecting you."

A feral grin rises from Natsu's lip; "And now we're here to kick your asses!"

Naruto and Erza keep their gaze on the man sitting on the train. The redhead speaks up; "You're Erigor I presume?"

One of the members of Eisenwald tilts perks up at taking a closer look at the armored woman. "Hey isn't that...?"

"Yeah, that girl from the other day" Another member answers. "Must have been her who leaked out our plans"

Kageyama, now sporting bandages over his ears seethes at the sight of them. "You damn flies, it's all because of you..."

A man in a stripped hoodie chuckles teasingly at him. "Calm down Kage-chan"

Naruto pops his knuckles; "So how bout handing over that flute thing and we can all call it a day?"

"Tell me your intentions," Erza glares hard; "depending on your answer, you will possibly regret it."

Erigor simply smirks with a dismissive wave. "Ohh don't mind us, we're just killing time. No jobs lately so we're really bored" His guild laugh at his witty reply. "You fools" His smile becomes more savage, to the Fairies surprise, he levitates from the ground, a trail of wind marking his ascension. "Haven't you realized yet? Here's a tip; what do they have on a train station?"

Lucy and Happy both look in shock; "That's pure wind magic!"

Erigor keeps his eyes on the Sennin and Titania. "Times up." he floats over to a pillar with four speakers which makes the Fairy Tail group widen their eyes in horror.

"You're going to broadcast that damn thing," Naruto shouts snarling.

"Shit!" Natsu swears along with Gray.

"There are currently thousands of people gathered here" The ace of Eisenwald smiles maniacally. "If we broadcast it loud enough even the entire town will hear Lullaby's deadly melody"

Erza's teeth are grind in rage. "You'd indiscriminately commit mass-murder?!"

"Ohh don't look at it that way" He chuckles. "We're simply... cleaning up. These people so blissfully ignorant, enjoying their lives filled with rights and freedom, not knowing there are others to whom such things are denied" His disturbing smile grew larger. "Living a life oblivious to the unfairness of the world is a sin. Thus, the Shinigami has come to punish them"

Lucy looks up in her own rage; "You'll never get back anything just by killing everyone in the area! You won't return to the wizard league, you will have only make things worse for you!"

"Naive girl... If we have the authority we can burn away the past and dominate the future! And with Lullaby we will do just that," Erigor sinisterly chuckles. "We stopped caring upon ever returning to the league, now all we want is our own path."

"You're a damn fool," the buxom blond fires back.

Slamming his hand on the ground, Kageyama smiles murderously at Lucy; "Such a pity!" a mass shadow shoots forward from the cement to his target. "We're rolling in a new age of darkness. Of course by the time it gets here you flies will be DEAD!"

The shadow shoots out like a whip but is burned away by Natsu's flaming fist. "I ain't gonna let you lay a hand on my friends"

Kageyama sneers seeing the feral grins from Naruto and Natsu. With a flaming fist the dragon slayer punches his palm. "Looks like we can finally have a party." The dragon slayer remarks darkly.

Erigor only looks down at them in amusement; '_the Fairy Tail flies fell right into my trap. Everything is going to according to plan.' _His smile only grows more savage; '_but there can be no rest till they hear the final melody of lullaby's song and finally have revenge against those who wronged us!'_

Popping his knuckles in a very Tsunade-like fashion Naruto smiles predatory, showing his naturally long canines; "well boys are we going to stand here or we gonna start killing each other like civilized human beings?"

Lucy sweatdrops; "kinda morbid there Naru." She gets an 'aye' from Happy who flies around.

Rising into the air Erigor smirks; "I leave these flies to you men. KILL THEM ALL! SHOW THEM THE TERROR OF THE DARK GUILD EISENWALD!" he vanishes in a blink of an eye.

Erza narrows her almond colored eyes; "Natsu, Gray, you two go after Erigor and stop him." The two said mages look at her as she continues. "If the two of you work as one not even the ace of Eisenwald can stop you. I leave him in your hands."

Naruto and Lucy sweatdrop seeing both Natsu and Gray butting heads till a loud verbal roar from the gorgeous redhead sends them running with Kageyama and the man with a pharaoh hoodie named Rayule chasing after them.

Both the young Sennin and Knight of Fairy Tail keep their eyes focused on the rest of the members of Eisenwald. Behind them Lucy bites the inside of her lip while Happy flies around her. "We will meet up with those two later after we deal with these men."

The buxom blond lightly pales; "The three of us against all of these guys?"

A few of the dark mages leer at both Erza and Lucy; "Man, those two ladies are gorgeous. Damn shame we have to kill them."

"Who says we can't have fun with them after we kill Uzumaki. Tame these beauties just right before we sell them off," another dark utters darkly.

However their musing is silenced by a massive intense wave of killer intent coming from a deeply frowning Naruto. None seeing his cerulean blues turned crimson momentarily. "You even think of trying that and I will personally send you idiots to the 'real' Shinigami himself," Naruto says in a low growling tone.

One of the men in Eisenwald just activates his magic shaking off the sudden fear, and fires off a beam of light. "Just die you blonde bastard!"

Without any hesitation, Ezra uses her re-equip magic and summons a long sword from the other realm, slicing at the beam, of light and deflecting it. Naruto himself jumps high into the air and forms a large blue spinning ball of Chakra, his Odama Rasengan as well as throwing a Tri-forged Kunai into the fray of men before him. "You first!" And in a flash, he was in their ranks, slamming the large Rasengan into the ground, and blasting the men around him away in a wave of pressure and wind, many falling to the ground, others hitting into walls nearby.

Lucy's jaw nearly drops; "Naruto can make that thing bigger!?"

Happy nods; "Aye, when he and Erza fought that one time he used it. It tore up the entire street!"

The buxom blond sweatdrops; "Destroying property is not something to be excited about you know."

Re-equipping her sword for a large polearm lance, Ezra jumps into the fray and slams into a dozen men in one swing, knocking half out with the force alone before needing to switch and swing for the incoming enemies to her other side. Seeing more coming up to take her out, some using their magic, she vaults herself up into the air, the polearm straight up with her on top of it.

In a second, she switches her spear out for twin swords, spinning into the fray with close range grace, as she dances among them, slashing into some and uppercutting others out of the way for much bigger targets, spinning with beautiful swings that makes her unknowingly distracting to others around her.

With his own fists, Naruto himself fights a couple dozen men at once, not even using his Chakra to take them down anymore. With a swing coming for him from behind, Naruto shifted to the side and let it pass, only to grab the man and slam his head into his knee, disorientating himself enough for the blonde Sage to throw him into the next attacker, slamming them to the ground in a pile with a third Attacker who was unfortunate enough to have Naruto kick his arm down and then spring kick his chin with enough force for the attacker to flip three times backwards before joining the pile with the two first K.O's from Naruto's swift hand to hand skills.

A dark mage growls; "he's not even mage and he's kicking our asses!" That same dark mage is sent to dreamland from a roundhouse kick to the face courtesy of the blond Uzumaki.

"Because I'm awesome dattebayo!"

When that mage was sent to la-la land, his friends tried to blast Naruto with their magic, only to find the blonde was gone. One Mage looked in shock to see Naruto jump from the middle of the crater he made near the buxom redhead. "Erza!"

Re-Equipping her polearm, Ezra swung at Naruto, who landed both feet on the swinging surface. "Go, Naruto!" Swinging with full force, Ezra blasted Naruto into the fray of enemies starting to blast at him, and corrected her swing to slam into the seven men behind her, attempting to strike her down with their weapons.

Moving to the side, the blonde Sage dodged another blast, only to land a drop kick into the nearest enemy, picking him up by his feet when the mage almost flipped completely, and swung him to the far mage who was going to blast him, "Keep on comin boys I got a can whoop ass for everybody!"

"Those two," Lucy watches on in almost a trance as Erza and Naruto decimate Eisenwald. "They're so strong… and fight so well together…"

Happy nods beside her; "aye because those two are best friends. They always train together when not busy on a job or something in town."

Taking a golden key from off her belt, Lucy gives a smirk; "Well I want in on it to! **Open: Gate of the golden bull! Taurus**!"

The ground erupts as a near seven foot; very muscular humanoid bull man stands tall in front of the smiling buxom blond. Covered mainly with short white fur with black fur splotched on random places, bull horns on the top of his head, a cow bell around his neck, wearing swimming briefs, a red belt with a golden buckle, and black boots. On his back is massive long handle double bladed axe.

Drool comes from the side of Happy's mouth; "Giant cow…"

"I swear you and Natsu think with your stomachs," The buxom blond just rubs her eyes.

"Wow Lucy-chan that smoking body looks amazing as always, those boobs look moo~re awesome each time I see them," the giant bull gives a big lecherous smile only making Lucy sigh.

"Oh yeah Taurus is also the world's biggest pervert," the celestial mage mutters.

'_You should have met Ero-Sennin Lu-Chan,_' Naruto sweatdrops while drop kicking two dark mages.

Lucy points to the dark mages; "Those scumbags that Naru and Erza are fighting, smash them!"

With a vicious grin the bull-man grabs his axe as he charges; "Yoo~u got it!" Leaping into the air the celestial spirit slams down his massive axe at the members of Eisenwald who smartly get the hell out of dodge. The ground erupts by the sheer force sending quite a few dark mages flying.

A whistle comes from the blond Uzumaki; "That was awesome bull-man!" He grins getting a thumbs up from Taurus as both continue fighting.

The Fairy Queen was beginning to tire from these fools constant meddling, there were more pressing matters at hand and the grunts were delaying them. They weren't even good grunts, the last one came charging at her with conjured lightning swords, but left himself so open the Titania couldn't help but pity him as she delivered a swift kick to his crotch and a punch to his jaw, knocking him out cold.

They need to end this quickly and stop Erigor from unleashing Lullaby. With that in mind, she decided it was time to switch her tactics. With a wave of her hand she gathered magic all around her body as she opened of her personal storage dimension.

Naruto and Lucy noticed her armor vanishing, leaving her skin completely bare and shimmering with magic. Erza waved her arms as she summoned another armor. The male blond knew for a fact that the redhead had a flair for... dramatics. Even in the midst of combat.

Once she got like this there was no stopping her, but honestly, one would think she'd notice the obvious state she was in. "Does she realize she's naked?" He wasn't complaining, but if Erza knew everyone was shamelessly ogling she'd go on a rampage, and gods help them if that happened. Lucy could only blush brightly, thinking how cool Erza looked at everything she did.

"I am seriously falling for Erza," Lucy says almost breathlessly. Taurus absently nods with his tongue hanging out.

Naruto only snorts and sweatdrops upon seeing everyone stopped and gawking with hearts in their eyes. Seriously if his best friend ever figured out that tiny detail of her Re-quip all hell would break loose.

Magic condensed and took shape on her frame, turning into a glorious silver armor. Her chest and midriff were left bare, but her arms and legs were covered in silver plates of metal, her waist was circled by a skirt decorated with plates. The most distinctive trait was the four wings on her back, formed by feather-like plates. She looked like a warrior angel of steel.

"Heaven's Wheel!" She shouted the name of her armor.

"That is Erza's power," Happy deciding to go into lecture mode beside an awestruck Lucy. "Her Re-Quip is called the 'knight'. The strongest woman in all of Fairy Tail!"

A large chubby dark mage soon looks absently in thought; "crimson red hair... A master of weapons…" A chill went down his spine as Erza began rising into the air. "Holy Shit..! It's Titania!"

"This ends now!" Dozens of swords appear around her. "Dance, my blades! **CIRCLE OF SWORDS**!" They shimmer with power and beginning to spin so fast around her they become a blurry disk of energy. With a wave of her arms, the disk is sent hurling towards her opponents. The dark mages are blown away by rag dolls by the sheer force of the attack.

Shunshining back to Lucy Naruto only smirks seeing all the members of Eisenwald laid out into unconsciousness. Lowering back to the ground beside her best friend in a flash Erza's armors turns back to her Heart's Kruez.

Lucy much to her fellow blond silent amusement can't stop blushing at the redhead as she had already dispelled Taurus.

"Lucy, could go find Natsu and Gray," Erza's voice stirring the buxom blond from her daydream of thoughts. "Those two are likely fighting each other before they even find Erigor. It is imperative he must be stopped."

Lucy was about to disagree till feeling a wave of angry energy coming off of Erza, "PLEASE!"

Only smoke is left as Lucy high tails it out of there with Happy in tow. Taking a deep sigh Erza almost falls to the one knee till Naruto catching her by the waist. "You spent too much energy..."

"Doesn't matter" The Titania grunts, a drop of sweat running down her temple "We need to stop Erigor quickly, before he unleashes Lullaby"

A part of Naruto wanted to yell at her but honestly he was just as equally stubborn she was. "What do you need from me?" The blond helps her stand straight as she catches her breath.

"Will you go help Lucy find Natsu and Gray?"

The blond Uzumaki nods; "Are you going to be okay for now?"

"Yes" She replies. "Just give me a minute to rest" Erza gives him a stern look. "Go, now"

Naruto nods firmly before breaking into a run to the hallway Lucy had gone through.

Regaining her bearings, the redhead runs up the stairs; "I have to warn the people." Upon leaving the room as a down dark mage with actual whiskers groans.

"Karacka stop hiding I know you're there," he groans painfully.

With a weak chuckle, the large chubby dark mage of Eisenwald phases through the wall near the downed man; "Sorry Byard."

The whiskered man just waves it off; "Never mind and just listen..."

XxX ~ Natsu &amp; Gray ~ XxX

The fire and ice users ran as fast as they could through the hallway, searching for Erigor. Their task would go more smoothly were it not because they were constantly butting heads every few seconds.

"What the hell was Erza thinking pairing the two of us?" Gray grunts while in his sprint.

"I know right! When have we EVER gotten along?"

"She must be out of her meds if she believes we can work together without you messing everything up"

"Yeah, she... What do you mean by that?!" The pink haired boy roared with flames escaping from his lips.

Both butt heads; "I can handle Erigor on my own!" They say at the same time. "Are you coping me?!"

Stopping their impromptu face off both see an intersection going left and right. "Guess we split up from here," Gray mutters.

"Alright" Natsu nods before giving his characteristic grin. "If you find that bastard, save a bit for me, I wanna punch his face in myself"

"Tch" The ice mage grins back. "Hey if I find Erigor I ain't gonna pull my punches. If I beat him before you then you'll have to live with it" They both turn, each about to take their separate paths. Gray stopped momentarily, unseen by Natsu; he wore a somber look on his face. "Don't you go dying you hear me..." He muttered so softly his words had gone nearly unheard, even by Natsu's superior hearing.

"What?" The pink haired boy said in confusion.

Gray grunted. "Nothing" He broke into a sprint down the hall. "Get going you flame-head"

Hearing a scoff both men run in their chosen direction. Running through his path Gray notices a door with the sign studio. Without hesitating he kicks down the door hard shattering it. Walking in the ice mage only finds an empty room.

"The bastard's not around. Did I beat him here? This is the only communication room in the place," Gray mutter quietly not seeing several loose straps coming from the ceiling behind him.

His instincts allow him to react in time as the straps suddenly lash out at him, he quickly dodges and the binds strike the floor, cracking it."Not bad, your senses are sharp will give that." slowly sliding down from the ceiling the dark mage Rayule smirks arrogantly. "You flies really are nuisance to our plans."

"So there is more going on, Naruto had a feeling there was."

"Ohh, don't worry too much about it" Rayule says hauntingly. "It's not like you can do anything anyway"

Slamming his fist into his hand, Gray's magical aura starts to chill the studio quickly. "Maybe not, but you never know until you try. Besides, it's not like I'm going to fail in front of Ezra, so you better believe I'm going to be an even bigger pain in the butt than we have been until you're through."

Rayule himself notices the quickly icing surfaces and jumps down onto the floor just before firing several ribbons and straps from his hands. "Fat chance!"

Just as the straps touched Gray, they froze and bundle into a large sculpture of ice that breaks in a flurry of snow. "Ready to talk? Or do I need to chill you out of your shoelaces?"

Seeing as the snow was causing slight visibility problems, the dark mage figured he had an advantage, one which he felt ready to pull. Letting nothing be held back, Rayule launches almost a hundred straps through the air, flying in nearly all directions. In what he felt was a confusing display of an attack; he slips through the floor of the room.

Seeing a large dark wall of moving straps coming for him and slamming into the walls, the Ice Mage generates a large wall of ice, "**Ice Make: Shield**!" The swarming snow around him collapses in front of him to generate pieces of the shield, becoming solid ice in front, and around, the straps, stopping them in their tracks. However, they were suddenly pulling his shield away from him, and slamming it into the ground.

Jumping from the ceiling, Rayule pulls a large hail of straps enclose all around Gray in a matter of seconds, surrounding him entirely. When the dark mage eventually tied Gray into a mummy, he could only laugh and grin in dark amusement. "Take that, Fairy Tail wizard! Eisenwald's no pushover!"

As he laughed, he didn't notice until the ice reached his hands, that all his straps were one solid chunk of ice in the shape of Gray himself. Hearing someone behind him, he only feels the hair on his neck straighten, the strongest chill reaching his spine. "If that's all you guys got, then you're ace in the hole might be nothing but a low ranked wussy. Some rep he has, I figured those he commanded would put up more of a fight."

The ice broke into a million dust particles, revealing a blurry, but well made, sculpture of Gray, solid but see through. The real Gray was behind Rayule, who had turned to defend himself, only to see a shirtless gray activating his magic again. "**Ice make: Knuckle**!" And without a second to spare, Rayule gets hit by several fisted arms coming from the floor, slamming him into the equipment behind him.

XxX ~ Lucy ~ XxX

"Where the hell are those two? How big is this station anyway," The buxom celestial mage huffs as she runs down a hall with Happy flying beside her.

"You'd think it'd be easy to find them really" The blue cat says. "Usually there are lots of explosions when those two are together"

"Maybe we should head back to Erza and Naru and regroup," Lucy mutters quietly before stopping and seeing Happy literally frozen in place in pure fear looking right at her. "What's wrong?"

"We mustn't disobey Erza. We mustn't disobey Erza" The winged feline repeated the words like a mantra while rocking back and force in the air. "Bad things happen to you when you disobey Erza"

Lucy shivers at Happy's tone ask keeps going; "You have to be beyond brave to disobey an order from Erza. Even I don't know what she would do to you..."

"Wh-What would she do to me!?" Lucy almost shrieks. "Alright I'll go looking for them!"

"Lu-Chan!" Both turn seeing Naruto running up to them. "Caught you two in time." then she notices both of them slightly petrified. "Did I miss something?"

"Erza's going to punish Lucy" Happy replies.

"I said we'll go looking for them!"

The blond Sennin scratches his head; "Okay...". Soon enough, the trio runs off down the hall.

XxX ~ Erza ~ XxX

The Fairy Queen hurried towards the stations balcony. If they couldn't get to Erigor in time, at least they needed to evacuate the town so no innocent would hear Lullaby's deadly song.

As she reached the balcony, she looked at crowd. It was almost like everyone in town had gathered to see what was going on in the station, while the ideal circumstance was for they to be as far away as possible, she could use this to her advantage and make sure everyone would leave.

"People of Oshibana!" She shouted as loud as her voice would allow. "If you value your lives you will leave immediately!"

The crowd below murmurs and the redhead continues; "Dark mages have laid siege to the station and plan to broadcast a death spell! I urge all of you to evacuate now!"

Not being told twice the crowd around the station soon take off in a near panic, but thankfully will keep their lives now. _I will not let you use that dark magic to commit mass murder to innocent people_. Watching the people run away further she sighs; _how will you react now to not having anyone to kill Erigor?_

Turning around her eyes widen. "It-It can't be!"

The station, the entirety of the great building was shrouded in a barrier of violent winds reminiscing of a tornado. Her hair and skirt wipe around strongly from the violent tempest as she hears a deep chuckle behind her. "So you made it outside eh Titania?"

Swiftly turning Erza snarls looking up; "ERIGOR!"

The assassin mage waves at her sitting in the sky. "So it was you who made the sheep run away from the wolf's fang I see."

"As we speak the people are fleeing town" She says fiercely, glaring daggers at the dark mage. "No one will hear Lullaby's song now"

To her surprise, Erigor only smiled, and a growing sense of dread began to seep down her spine. "Who ever said our target was Oshibana?"

_Look underneath the underneath_, Naruto's words echo in Erza's head as her eyes widen in horror. "The guild masters in Clover!"

Erigor soon laughs at her terror; "Oh you are clever as they say! And how I longed to finally face someone of your caliber Titania. But pleasure will come after business." Before Erza can react she hit by a powerful wind spell; "Now be a good girl and wait in your cage!"

Her feet skid backwards as Erza finds herself inside the station and behind the wind barrier. She quickly stands on her feet and bashes against the barrier, only for this one to easily repel, she puts more strength into her legs to keep herself pushing. She grunts in pain as she feels her arm being slashed by the violent winds.

Moving back from the dangerous winds Erza hissing as holds her slashed up arm. "I have wasted enough time! Judgement awaits!" Erigor's silhouette soon fades outside the barrier.

Rage trembles through her body as blood drips from the redhead's arm; "ERIGOR!"

XxX ~ Gray ~ XxX

Walking up to the dark wizard, Gray had enough fun. "Alright, so give me the run down here, because I feel I'm missing something. Aren't you Eisenwald goons trying to project the Lullaby melody over the PA system?"

Groaning and coughing from the sudden shift in air pressure in his lungs, Rayule stands up, smirking and chuckling to himself. "Man you Fairy Tail are idiots. Yeah, we're going to use the damn song, but not here where a small population of unimportant people would die just to be martyrs... Nah, we're going after those who spat in our faces. In fact, I think our trap just closed on you a few minutes ago, with Erigor's barrier up and running..."

That got Gray's attention. Grabbing the dark wizard, the ice mage threw him into the wall with enough force to make him bounce, before grabbing his neck and forcing him against the wall, legs hanging. "Let's get this clear, cause I don't have too much time or patience to deal with you. Tell me what the plan is, where are you going to unleash that death magic?"

Spitting out some blood Rayule only gives dark bloody smile; "Thought that Salamander was a thick headed idiot. Don't you get by now Fullbuster?" His smile soon turns murderous. "WE'RE AFTER THE GUILD MASTERS!"

Quickly realizing the plan, and why they were even heading this way, it made sense. The tracks lead all the way to the conference in Cover. "But why stop here, why comes all this way just to stop when your target is Clover?"

Rayule swiftly slips more straps down to use. "Moron, we lead you in here because we knew you were after us. In order to pin you flies down, we trapped you all in here with Erigor's barrier, which is impenetrable! And unless you can fly like Erigor, you're not going to be catching him any time soon! HAH!" A Snap of his wrists and his magic straps roll into heavy rolls just to smack into Gray with enough force he skids back, giving the dark mage the space he needs to roll his sleeves up and whip his straps at Gray.

With a swift swing, Rayule's straps swung in a cyclone of black fury, snapping against Gray with enough force to bruise his arm and twist him around before catching his leg and tripping him, the ice mage falling face first. Releasing more straps, Rayule struck with the full force of a truck down upon Gray's back, cracking the ground as Gray screamed in pain.

Using his magic, the straps of Rayule's accessories slipped around Gray's feet and started to drag him close. "Now don't try and fight it, this will be over soon, just like it will be for those guild masters that soiled our good name..."

The seemingly won battle was quickly turned, however, as Gray roars and generates a floor made of spikes around him and Rayule, who suddenly becomes punctured in several places, his arms stuck and unmoving. The straps freezing to breaking point, snapping into chunks as Gray stands up from the dangerously sharp landscape. "So that's it. I get it now... You've been after your revenge all this time."

Just as the dark mage was about to speak, the cold winds of impending death silence him, his eyes widening to see Gray turn with a look of a devil seeking blood. "I'm going to explain this once to you, so it sticks. Those old fogies, the Guild masters, however old and strict and out of the times around here, they mean more to us than your revenge means to you. They took us in when others gawked, screamed, and ran us out of towns for our gifts, and helped us to control it, to seize the day and be ourselves. They are the closest thing we have to parents... and we will not allow you to get off a single note of that flute to play so long as I still breathe... And when I'm through with you, I'm aiming for Erigor, and every single member of your guild. You think you're bad? I'll prove that if you mess with those we care about, that Fairy Tail is worse than any Dark Guild. Time to meet the REAL reaper..." Slamming his hand into the dark mages skull, ice mist starts to pour through the room in a blizzard. "Tell him your leader's title will be removed from him today."

Falling to the ground with his head covered in ice Gray only stares impassively at his downed opponent. "No one messes with my friends or gramps on my watch." Without another word the ice mage runs out the room; "Damn they played us good."

XxX ~ Natsu ~ XxX

"COME ON OUT YOU COWARD!" The Dragon Slayer roared as he blasted through yet another wall, completely missing the door that was not but a couple of feet from the now scorching hole. "I'LL BRING THE WHOLE PLACE DOWN IF IT MEANS FINDING YOU!" Once more, he brought down another wall, but the door close to it was left intact.

Emerging from the shadows, Kageyama observes the senseless rampage with a sweatdrop. "It's like this guy doesn't know how to use a door..."

_Dumb ass does not even know Erigor is already long gone_. Slowly the shadow mage phases out of the ceiling watching Natsu blow a hole through another wall. _The idiot is so clueless, all he doing is wasting his time._ Finally with only his hands still black mass above him he rocks back and slams his feet into the back of Natsu head sending him flying into a storage room. "Until I kill you and the rest I can have some mental peace."

The pink haired boy groans as he recovers from the attack. He looks at his attacker with a surprised gaze. "It's you...! Uh... That guy!" He points dramatically.

Kageyama nearly falls to the ground out of the sheer idiocy of that statement. But more importantly, the bastard didn't know his name!

"It's Kageyama you idiot! Didn't Uzumaki tell ya!?" The shadow mage lands on the ground.

Natsu just waves a hand dryly; "Nah he just said you were some fake ass clone reject of his old buddy Shika whatever his name is."

"Damn it I'm not unimportant!" Kageyama shouted in anger, a twitch making itself present on his eye. "I'm a very strong member of Eisenwald!"

Natsu snorted. "Which was why your boss just left you and the others here as cannon fodder right?"

Taking a slow deep breath the dark mage calms himself; "Anyway you can't win. I figured out your magic Salamander. This will be easy."

Natsu only gives feral smirk; "You really think I am some push off? I am going to love beating your head in."

With his own smirk, Kageyama activates his shadow magic. "Says the flame I'll be smothering! **Knuckle Shadow**..!" His own shadow snakes up to Natsu before suddenly throwing several fists and arms up at Natsu, who only had enough time to block the attack to his vital areas before slamming up against the wall.

The pink haired salamander slaps his feet and hands against the wall in order to reduce any pain from actually crashing into it, but also as a means of attack. Jumping off the wall, Natsu starts spinning in a fiery twister, flames surrounding his legs as he collides with Kageyama, who notices the sudden counterattack in surprise. Instinct raising several shadows to block, but the fire and Natsu's strength pierced through the shield, Natsu's flame covered foot slamming into Kageyama with the force of a train and blasting the shadow mage through the wall and into the hallways once more. "Ready to talk, or do I need to rough you up a bit more?"

Shaking off the mental cobwebs and spitting out some blood, Kageyama soon raises to his feet as he jumps back through the massive hole. "Is that really all you got? We're just getting started..." The shadow mage gleams murderously.

XxX ~ Erza ~ XxX

"How do we break this barrier?!" The Titania questioned one of the members of Eisenwald. The guy only scoffed and ignored her.

He was promptly headbutted and knocked out.

Erza proceeded with the next one. "How do we break this barrier?!"

The man began sweating nervously. "I-I don't know..." THUCK! Headbutt.

Naruto only cringes while a frightened Lucy hugged an equally frightened Happy. The young Sage noticed all but a few were tied up as Erza was sending the rest guy to the dream land.

"C-Can't she interrogate someone like a normal person?" Lucy asks fearfully. Getting a weak 'aye' from Happy.

Her fellow blond looks back at her dryly; "Define any normal person within Fairy Tail?" He waits for her reply, when she doesn't answer he adds; "Don't worry I'll wait."

Walking over to a now fearful Byard, Erza grabs him by collar. "Well, you saw what I did to your friends. How do I break the wind barrier?"

No matter how much frightening the redhead is; her fury was nothing compared to what Erigor would do to him if he said anything. "Fuck you, bitch" With that, he spits on her face.

Erza does not move, her expression doesn't change, and she doesn't even try to wipe the saliva running down her cheek. Her eyes slowly narrow even further.

Naruto suddenly pales considerably. "Uh oh..."

Upon running into the second floor of the area, Gray literally turns ghostly white as an inhuman shriek echoes through the entire building courtesy of Erza beating the holy hell out of an Eisenwald mage within an inch of his life.

_Damn even I am not that stupid_, Naruto cringes badly watching the one-sided massacre delivered by his best friend. He soon sweatdrops noticing Lucy, Happy, and even Gray – of all people- hiding behind him.

"How does this not scare you," Gray says fearfully.

"You never met my mother..." Naruto speaks like he was talking about the weather.

Imagining someone out there actually _far worse_ than Erza only made the ice mage shake fearfully "Now I don't think I want to..."

Erza let's go of the shapeless pile of meat formerly known as Byard. She grunts in annoyance. "Now how are we going to break through the barrier?"

At that moment Naruto realized something. "Say, where is Natsu? And... I think we're missing one or two of those Eisenwald guys"

Out of their fearful moment, the three behind Naruto also notice a few of them missing; "Yeah, that Kageyama, and Mr. tubby are gone," Gray mutters still with a twinge of fear in his voice.

"Kage..." Byard speaks weakly in a pained. "Yama... Break barrier..."

Erza's eyes widen. "What was that?!" She holds the dark mage by the collar once more. "Tell me or this time I'll really get violent" She growls.

"Kageyama..." He wheezes. "Can dispel... magic..."

Dropping Byard unceremoniously, Erza looks to Naruto, "We have to find Natsu and that guy, now!"

XxX ~ Natsu vs. Kageyama ~ XxX

Activating his shadow magic, the Shikamaru clone fires several more shadowy fists forward. His opponent was ready this time, as he ducks under them, slipping out and racing up against the wall to the side, curving around as to not get hit directly by what looked to be a brick wall of shadow.

Said wall of shadow collapse against the wall where the fire wizard was before moving, Kageyama looking up to see Natsu had jumped up against the ceiling before jumping straight down with a barreling axe kick. The pineapple headed man uses another wall of shadow in an attempt to get away from the attack, thankfully in time as the same fire amplified attack as before breaks his shadows to nothing.

Not one to hesitate in a battle or to shred his opponents, Kageyama slams his palms to the ground. "**Snake Shadow**!" Several large slithering reptiles of shadow jump from his magic circle, and race towards the pink haired salamander. However, as he activated his own magic, so did Natsu.

Hitting the ground, Natsu corrected himself before making a stand, slamming his fists together. "Now I'm fired up! Yeah! Time to show you what a real wizard can do!" Breathing inward, Natsu sees the snaking shadows of his attacker's next spell. "**Dragon Flame ROAR**!" cupping his hands in front of his mouth to make a funnel, the fire wizard spits the flame in his belly in a firestorm at the shadows, which were overtaken with ease as the stream of fire destroys them in seconds, still racing towards the shadow user.

Seeing his own ace in the hole fail, Kageyama quickly raises as much power to protect himself, barriers piling up in front of him only to break with the force of a waterfall, and the heat of the sun, blasting him through the broken wall, and then through the next wall, into another storage room on the other side of the hall.

Groaning in pain, Kageyama stood up, his jacket smoking and almost torn to a crisp from the flame, he stares up in shock and fear as Natsu, the fire mage and dragon slayer of Fairy Tail, walks up to him with a raging fire all around his arms, a menacing look in his eyes. "Gotta say, I've not been this fired up for a long time, gonna be a shame to waste this much fun. But I'd rather just beat down your boss, so just tell me where he is and we'll call it even."

XxX ~ xxx ~ XxX

Running through the halls of the station Erza, Naruto, Gray, and Lucy all stop as the build shook. Happy floats around them looking around."Natsu?" The winged cat reasons that to be the cause of whatever might have caused the whole structure to rumble.

"Natsu" The others reply without missing a beat.

Popping his knuckles the fire dragon slayer is ready to keep on ass kicking till he sees Erza and the others running towards him outside the hole; "Hey guys, got shadow dude on the ropes here."

Erza says nothing as she passes her pink haired friend and walks through the hole. Naruto also follows as he smirks at glaring shadow mage."So, guess these flies ain't so worthless anymore huh?" He quips much to Kageyama's ire.

"We came to make you an offer" The knightess says, stepping forward. "I know you can dispel magic, so here's the deal; you dispel the wind barrier Erigor erected, and... well, we'll try to get you a fair trial"

"Oh" Kageyama shows false cheer, "a fair trial for an open dark mage. Yeah that will go far Titania." The shadow mage sneers. "Tell you what..." His words die in his throat as blood pours out.

"What the-?!" Gray shouts as he and everyone else steps back in shock. Lucy covers her mouth in horror as Kageyama's body slumps to the ground and they see a knife buried on a bloody spot on his back.

Over the wall, the quivering form of Karacka phases through the stone with an arm semi-outstretched, his own face shocked and horrified at what he had just the large man's head he keeps hearing Byard's words over and over. _'Kill Kageyama..._' Erza rushes to the man along with Naruto as Natsu is frozen on the spot.

"Aren't you... His friend," the rosette haired man says in a low shocked voice. He gnashes his teeth as he dashes forward with a flaming fist."AREN'T YOU FRIENDS IN THE SAME GUILD!? YOU BASTARD!"

Karacka barely hast time to react as the fiery comet that was a human hand collides against his jaw, sending him with enough force it shatters the wall and knocks him unconscious at the same time.

"People who do that to their own comrades" The fire Dragon Slayer seethes with utmost rage. "Are the worst"

"We'll see to this guy's wounds" Naruto said as he unsealed a first aid kit from a scroll. "Gray, Lucy" He said with as much authority as he could master, bringing them out of their stupor. "Make sure that other guy doesn't escape..." He soon notices the fat man wouldn't be leaving any time soon in his current state. "Or... try to make sure Natsu doesn't kill him"

Both Lucy and Gray hold back an irate Natsu while Happy flies onto Naruto's shoulder. The buxom blond looks to her fellow blond; "You know first aid?"

"When your mother is the village's best doctor you pick up a lot." Naruto mentally shivers at all the lessons he took from Tsunade, Shizune, and even Sakura. In the back of his mind he wished he could have learned 'Mystic palm'.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Having bandaged him properly after taking care of the wound, the group tries, unsuccessfully, to wake up the shadow mage.

"Kageyama, come one!" Erza shakes him. "You need to wake up and dispel the barrier!" Her temper rises by the second. "I said wake up!" She proceeds to shake him even more violently.

Naruto and the others sweatdrop "I don't think that's gonna work..."

As they had all moved to one of open halls outside they see the violent tempest that halts their chase for Erigor. Gray explained the true plans of Eisenwald.

"They want to kill all the masters at the meeting," Lucy gasps till screaming as an angry Natsu slams himself into the dangerous wind barrier. Only to be sent flying back hard into the wall.

_They need more power to break through this_, Naruto thought. He could do something about it... but any technique in his repertoire strong enough to shatter the barrier would most likely bring the entire place on their heads out of the backlash.

With an almighty roar Natsu slams himself again into the powerful winds. Literally shoving him face and being cut multiple numerous times before being dragged back by Lucy. "Stop it! You are going keep hurting yourself!"

Erza growled under her breath as she paced impatiently before the violent winds. "We're wasting time; Erigor may already be halfway to Clover and the Masters. There has to be another way to get through"

Naruto searched high and low but couldn't find a single hole through the barrier; it stretched all around the large building from the ground to... hmm.

"Hey" He called out to the others. "Do you think this thing also goes underground?"

The rest of the Fairies' eyes widened in realization. "It shouldn't..." Gray says. "The wind barrier would only cover whatever it is surrounding"

"But the underground..." Lucy whispers.

Erza nods with a victorious smile. "It should be unprotected" In her hands she Re-Equipped a shovel (making the others sweatdrop and wonder just what kind of stuff did she have stored) and begins digging. "Come on, we have no time to lose"

Naruto groans as he helps her. "This is gonna take us too long" _Meanwhile Erigor's still on route to Clover._

As Happy saw his friends work, he felt like a light bulb literally came into existence right over his head as he suddenly remembered something. "I finally remembered what I wanted to talk you about Lucy!"

An annoyed expression crosses the buxom blond's pretty face; "Can't you see we're..." She trails off as Happy pulls a golden key from his bag.

"This. It's Virgo's key. She said she wanted you to have it." The little blue cat drops the key into a crouching Lucy's hands.

Erza and Gray look over as the ice mage speaks up; "What are you talking about?"

"That chubby rich teme Lu-Chan and Natsu beat up," Naruto summarizes.

"Ah" Said rosette boy exclaims as he remembers. "Yeah the hentai guy with the large gorilla-woman"

Gray only stares at him. "...I'm not even gonna ask"

The young Sennin squints his eyes towards Gray; "You really don't want to."

Looking at the golden key her hand Lucy looks visible uneasy. _'That gorilla woman wants me to be her master? Well maybe she can do something_.' Stand up full she extends the key in her hand. "**Open: Gate of the maiden! Virgo**!"

What she expected was to see was the same large ugly looking spirit they had first met on that pervert's mansion... what they got was a rather lovely looking young girl in maid's clothing with chains on her arms.

The pink haired spirits does a small courtesy. "Did you call, mistress?"

_Okay, that is different. She is pretty though_, Naruto thinks absently. "Hey Virgo!"

The spirit maid looks over to the blond shinobi. "Hello again. I wish to apologize for last time."

Natsu waves it off; "Nah it's fine, but man you lost weight."

Tilting her head the rosette female looks to the dragon slayer; "That form I took was at the request of my former master."

"That guy had weeeeird tastes" Naruto drawled. "I'd say 'to each their own' but, damn"

"I think you looked cooler in your other form" Natsu argued. "All big and tough"

"If you prefer" Her body immediately shifted to gigantic proportions and taking on a more 'brutish' look. "I can stay like this" She said in a very deep and baritone voice.

In seconds Naruto, Lucy, and Gray wave their hands; "The first form please!"

Within a blink the small pretty rosette maid reappears; "As you request mistress." She replied, her voice back to its soft monotone.

"Um, how about a different title, mistress makes me sound old," Lucy weakly smiles.

"Makes you sound like you're her... you know" The ice mage mumbled under his breath, to which Naruto couldn't help but snicker. Lucy glared at them but said nothing.

"How about madam?" Virgo asked.

"Hmm, too formal"

"Princess?"

Instantly the buxom blond beams; "Now that is a super cute title!"

Virgo nods; "Very well Hime."

Naruto just looks to Gray as they both deadpan shaking their heads. Soon Lucy turn serious; "I know we haven't made a formal contract but can you help us get out of this station and passed the barrier?"

"Of course hime" Virgo nods firmly. "Earth is my specialty, it'll take no time" As soon as she finished, she began digging with strength and speed that should have been impossible for someone of her build. The earth wasn't really being digging as much as Virgo was 'moving it away' with her magic.

"Quickly!" Naruto said as he jumped down into the hole, he was soon followed by the others.

Soon a hole as the blond Sennin and Red haired knight leap out first along with the others, and Natsu carrying a unconscious Kageyama. "We made it out!" The dragon slayer yells almost barely heard from the massive torrent of wind covering the station.

"The wind is crazy," Lucy says, shielding her face with her arms.

"Hime! Your panties are revealing themselves," Virgo kneeling down holding Lucy skirt, all the while giving a heavily blushing Naruto and Gray a prime view on her own backside courtesy of the high winds lifting her skirt.

Erza frowns as she stares at the tornado-like barrier around the station. "We can't do anything about it right now, but it doesn't matter. Our target is Erigor"

Naruto, forcing his gaze from Virgo's perfectly shaped apple bottom posterior, turns to the redhead and nods. "Right. Which is the way to Clover?"

About to open his mouth Gray soon notices two people missing and a semi-conscious Kageyama on the ground. "Where the hell is Natsu and Happy?"

Weakly chuckling the shadow mage looks to the sky; "Erigor has near Clover by now. We won."

Walking over, Naruto only glares down at the injured man. "You seem to be very loyal for a guy who left you behind and a Guild that was more than willing to sacrifice you"

Kageyama scoffs; "Loyalty is not much of a commodity in dark guilds Uzumaki. Even I understand the score. Necessary sacrifice to finish the goal."

"Code of the assassins huh," the young sage shakes his head."Even assassins can have honor and camaraderie among themselves" He says softly, speaking from experience. Though he had never really delved too much into the darker works of a shinobi, he knew enough and knew a lot of people who had, even them some of had been dear friends to him. "Plus, seems to me you're not really cut for the assassin's life"

Shifting his gaze the shadow mage snorts; "What do you even know about me?"

Soon feeling the desired mental tug he waited for Naruto smirks; "Nothing. But I know when someone is not a true stone cold killer. Now excuse me, Natsu and I got to beat up your boss" In a flash of yellow lightning the blond vanishes surprising everyone.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Flying through the skies, Natsu and Happy follow the railroad over the canyon, hoping to catch up to Erigor. "You see him Natsu?" The blue cat asks

The fire Dragon Slayer narrows his eyes and stares into the distance, where he sees a fast moving object flying over the canyon "I think I do. We gotta hurry!" The flying cat nodded, picking up speed.

A small flash of yellow behind them suddenly draws their attention. "Hey Natsu hope you're not planning-YIKES!" Naruto exclaims as he nearly falls to the ground far below, he instinctively reached for the closest object as not to fall, which happened to be Happy's tail, drawing a pained 'Youch!' from the cat. "Ohhhh I should have planned this better" _Note to self; don't teleport when the mark is most likely flying very fast._

Soaring through the skies of the canyon, Erigor smirks seeing his destination in sight. However he soon slows and turns hearing a sound behind him. His eyes nearly bug out from their sockets as he is doubled drop kicked in the chest by Natsu and Naruto hanging off of Happy.

The ace of Eisenwald slams hard into the railroad below.

Landing side by side, the Sage and Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail both look up and try to catch Happy, Natsu managing to save his cat friend. "There buddy, you did a good job. Sorry if we were pretty heavy."

Naruto pets the blue cat. "Thank you Happy, You must be really tired, sorry if we pushed you too much"

Behind them, the duo noticed Erigor climbing up to his feet from his crash zone. Slinging his scythe on his shoulders, the assassin mage growls at the two in confusion and irritation. "You are a couple of those Fairy Tail flies. The fire magic user and the blonde sage I keep hearing about. How the hell did you two catch up to me? That's impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible jackass," Naruto glares over as the Raijin no Ken falls from his sleeve and into his hand. Instantly the lightning blade surges to life.

Putting down his feline friend Natsu pops his knuckles now staring down the wind mage assassin; "You really think we're just gonna let you try to kill gramps. I'll take that flute and shove it up your ass before I let that happen!"

Seeing the duo in front of him, the blonde with a sword made of pure lightning, and the fire mage with his fists suddenly turning into large balls of fire wielding rage, Erigor knew this was not going to be an easy battle. However, he wasn't called the Ace of Eisenwald, the most feared dark guild in the land, for nothing. Grinning ear to ear, the wind mage launched up into the air a few feet, swirling his scythe behind him. "Well, sounds like this fight can get interesting; it's been so long since I found a proper match... It's Time to see how you Fairy Tail flies do against a true wizard!"

Launching himself forward, Eisenwald's Ace fighter swings for the duo in front of him, aiming straight for the killing blow at high speed. This straightforward attack was met with the Salamander, Natsu, jumping over him, cartwheeling to safely land on his feet. However, Naruto stood completely still in the same spot and took the blow with his own blade, sparks flying and blinding Erigor from the striking metal on lightning counter. Erigor uses all his might to push Naruto away from any sudden moves whilst he was blinded by the sparks, and flies back to get some distance.

Naruto skids along the ground a foot or two before stopping, still standing strong with his blade up and ready with his fire pal landing behind him in a crouch. "That all you got, Erigor?"

The said assassin mage only smirks; "Oh I far from done Uzumaki..."

"Good to hear," Naruto with a feral grin.

Activating his magic, Erigor throws a spell at his foes, a large whirling gust of wind blowing into Naruto and Natsu immediately. Though Erigor isn't the only one with knowledge on wind control, as the blonde sage started a Jutsu that turned the horizontal storm of wind into two that diverged either side of him and Natsu. Erigor could only look in surprise that his attack was being controlled by Naruto, and being diverted and blocked by its own power "impossible!"

Slamming his fists together, Natsu's limbs lit up with flame, and with a roar he rockets into the air, arching towards Erigor in a furious flaming cartwheel. "Say's the guy who's gonna burn! HAH!" Throwing several flaming kicks against the dark wizard of wind, he was blocked by Erigor's blade, the metal collecting and distributing the flame's heat evenly to not snap or burn to a crisp like the flute might under such heat, being wood.

Running out of momentum from the Scythe's blocks, Natsu only seen Erigor activate one more spell before he was sent into the sky, a darkened swirling wind sending him around in circles. "What the hell! AHHHH!"

Racing to his friend's aid, Naruto blinked and was sent into the large Tornado Erigor erected in an attempt to throw them to the abyss. Sadly, Naruto was thrown right out of the tornado by Erigor's second spell from within, and slammed into the ground. "NATSU!"

The pink haired fire wizard could only scream as the Tornado, upon the wind mages command, throws him into the Abyss, slamming into several rocks before free-falling through the foggy mess.

"One fly swatted," Erigor turns to Naruto. "I am impress you know how to manipulate wind. So you truly are a Sage after all. But you won't stop me!"

Happy weakly gets to his feet; "Have to help Natsu..." In seconds he falls back down.

Cerulean eyes just glare hard and both he and Erigor roar as they charge.

The roar of two weapon wielders clash, Naruto's lightning blade sparking against the metal blade that is pushing into it thanks to Erigor's own swing. Overpowering the wind mage, Naruto used his momentum and skill to duck under the blade, twirling from the swinging momentum provided by the curved weapon of Erigor, and grabbed onto the cloth around his waist, pulling the wind mage back and into his fist.

Without warning, Erigor had been jerked back from Naruto's grab, only to find a fist connecting to the back of his skull and plummeting him to the ground from the force alone. Looking up, the wind mage sees Naruto landing on him. Acting quickly, Erigor blocked the forceful kick to his chest that Naruto had aimed for, and activated his magic once more, a swirling gust starting to form and blast Naruto, in an attempt to make him soar into the Abyss. "Join your friend, fly!" Pushing all his magical energies into the blast, Erigor's wind attack lifts Naruto enough to finally kick in and send him flying up into the air.

Though his wind attack was strong enough to send Naruto into the air, the Ace of Eisenwald found he was only fueling the tornado's strength to be turned back against him. His wind attack once again split, and was being controlled without his consent as it starts turning into a raging hurricane above him. "This is just unreal! Who the hell are you!?"

The blonde ninja was forming a large variation of his Rasenshuriken with sharp bursts of wind buzzing around it, a ball of chakra infused with wind magic from the wizard below and large wind blades spiraling around it. "The name is Naruto Uzumaki, dattebayo!" As soon as the large wind blades in his hand were as powerful as he could control, Naruto throws it with gusto, the ball slamming into the ground where Erigor lay.

The wind attack forcing Naruto into the air stopped, and the blonde lands on his feet, seeing the crater of his work nearly splitting the entire track in half. Slumping at this, Naruto groans in worry. "I wonder what Mira-chan is going to say about this..."

Though his thoughts were pushed aside as he heard laughing. Through the smoke, Erigor stood with a few scuffs, but no damage. "Well, that's one hell of a trick. Taking my own magic, and using it against me. You are a challenge, and truly worthy of your title it seems, Naruto Uzumaki... Though I'm far from finished. I didn't become top wizard in Eisenwald without having a few aces up my sleeves..."

Naruto chuckles; "Actually fighting someone who like me has a control of wind as if it's second nature to them is awesome. Honestly I wanted to see how far that kinda fight would go."

A massive shadow gains both men's attention as giant hand of flames raises up grabbing onto the tracks. Instantly the young sage smirks as Natsu leaps up into the sky; "**FIRE DRAGON ROAR**!" exhaling a giant stream of flames towards his target.

Erigor moves out of the way of the giant fireball heading for him out of instinct, managing to get up into the sky in time to see the Salamander he thought he killed in the abyss land next to the blonde he was fighting still. "These Fairy Tail flies sure are persistent... They are doing more than I thought their magic could do. A trail of fire being used as a limb to climb back up? That's unheard of!"

Patting his partners back, Naruto smirked at Natsu. "I thought you'd never learn that trick, damn good job Natsu. Now let's finish this guy off and save the old man."

Giving thumbs up, Natsu grinned. "Oh yeah, I'm fired up now, time to put it to good use!" Slamming his fists together, Natsu's limbs erupted into an even bigger and hotter flame. "Here I go!" Jumping up at the dark wizard with trails of flame, Natsu roars into action. "**FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK**!"

Just as Natsu gets close with his strike, Erigor forms his most powerful magic, spinning his Scythe around in front of him. "**Storm Mail**!" Suddenly, a tornado with hurricane force winds and stronger forms around the battlefield, throwing Natsu back, and his flames into nothing but smoke, a wind barrier forming around Erigor completed the spell. "Like I'm going to just stand by anymore. You Fairy Tail flies have been stalling me for far too long! It's time to finish this!"

The blonde sage catches Natsu from falling behind him and gets his partner to stand on his own. "Couldn't agree more, we need to end this before he blows us off into the mountains!"

Though the wind mage only laughs loudly over the winds. "Sorry, but you're both going to find this to be your grave! My Soaring Phoenix magic will tear you apart! **Emera Baram**!" And without hesitation, the strongest gale force winds stormed in a tunneling funnel of death that shreds the track to pieces and hitting everything on them for a couple dozen yards.

Naruto, in the heat of the moment, pulled in front of Natsu and put as much pressure against the spiraling storm that was hitting them, only to barely stop the winds from blasting them back with excessive force. Landing on his knees, the blonde could only look back at Natsu, who fell and tumbled in a heap behind him. "Natsu!"

The laughing Erigor could only land in front of them in pride. "I'm surprised you both are even in one piece, let alone capable of conscious thought or speech. But don't worry, I'll end you in the next few minutes, and then I'll use the flute to kill off those old hags and geezers at the conference, so you won't be so lonely! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Looking at each other, Naruto and Natsu both nodded. Grinning, the blonde started to fly through a few seals. "Natsu, Let's show him how fire reacts when you use wind right!"

Powering up with his limbs glowing with fire, Natsu grins in excitement. "On it! Time to burn this guy to a crisp!" Roaring in power, Natsu's body erupts into flame, and in an instant he rockets off towards Erigor, "**FIRE DRAGON CLAW**!"

Seeing his partner jump up at Erigor, Naruto puts both hands in front of him before a large gust of wind blasts through the gale force winds around them, and pushes against Natsu's inflamed body and limbs, suddenly igniting them to epic proportions as he sails at the Eisenwald Ace even faster than Erigor himself could even hope to counter.

The salamander of Fairy Tail, with the help of the wind from his partner Naruto, roars into a cartwheel before striking with the heaviest uppercut kick he has ever thrown at his enemies, scorching the wind armor to shreds, and blasting Erigor with a blast of fire so hot and large it nearly burns away half the cloth around his waist as it sends him flying into the air, burn marks and a large bruise from the kick slamming into his stomach and chest several times before the force ejected him.

Landing on his back, unconscious, Erigor was beaten, a large fiery column of fire dissipating from the heavy handed blast of fire, combined by the large oxygen heavy gust of wind from the Sage himself.

"Hahahaha!" The Dragon Slayer roared with victorious laughter. "Not so bad for some flies huh?!" He shouted to the unconscious form of Erigor.

Naruto approaches his comrade, carrying Happy on his arm. "You did it guys..." The small blue cat smiles.

Natsu in turn gives his furry friend a wide grin. "You too helped Happy. We wouldn't have reached this guy in time if it weren't for you"

The blonde sage smiles as well before looking at the flute in the dark mage's person. He carefully picks it up and stores it among his clothes. "Well, now this thing won't hurt anyone"

XxX ~ In the forest near Clover ~ XxX

He could feel the enormous mass of nature power closer than before, so bright and strong, even trapped if trapped. He could feel it was just a piece, a fragment of a much greater source of power, pure raw and untamed nature power.

Power much like the one that had made him what he was now.

How long had he been slumbering? Why was he asleep? He remembered... darkness. A war. An ancient evil and a curse, not just on him, but on the entire planet, a curse against nature itself.

The world, he could feel the great earth mother's calling, begging him to return. After thousands of years he could hear her voice again. It was beckoning him and his kin to return, to safeguard the world like they had done before, they were needed once more.

He... he had to wake up. He would wake up.

A beastly eye slowly opens.

XxX ~ Erza, Gray, &amp; Lucy ~ XxX

As the magic car races on the track with Gray at the helm, despite her protest both Lucy and Gray knew Erza needed to recover so the redhead sat with the blond inside. Sitting uncomfortably Kageyama stares defiantly back at the Queen of Fairies.

"You should have just killed me and be done with it," the shadow mage mutters.

Lucy nearly screams at the man, "Do we look like murders you jerk!?"

"Meh" Gray shrugs hearing everything. "What good would that do?"

Kageyama gives them an incredulous glare. "I'm your enemy" He said as if was the most obvious thing in the world. And it kind of was. "Either you kill your enemy or he kills you" That was just how things worked.

"Man, spending so much time in a Guild like Eisenwald really gave you a gloomy perspective" The ice mage said, sounding a bit bored. "You really so eager to die? There's more than just who lives or dies in conflicts, maybe you should try looking for something better for your life"

Erza crosses her arm; "We do not kill people in cold blood. That is not the way of Fairy Tail."

Kageyama snorts and glares at her. "Well it's our way. We're an assassin's guild after all"

The knightess stares at him unimpressed. "Have you ever killed anyone?"

The shadow mage freezes as the redhead leans in, looking him dead in the eyes. "Tell me honestly, have you ever taken the life of another human being?"

Silence was her answer; "I have no idea of your reasons for leaving the guild league when Eisenwald defected, but I agree with Naruto, you're no stone cold killer."

His gaze shifts, turning uncertain and confused. "What would either of you know?" He asks emptily.

Memories assault her mind, images of when she was a child, weapons flying at the command of her rage, and blood. "...More than you think"

Narrowing his eyes Gray spots two figures up ahead standing over another; "I see Naruto and Natsu!"

Opening her window Lucy looks out smiling brightly as well as pure relief seeing her friends are alright. Naruto looks over in surprise as Gray 'driving' the car; "How the hell did you convince Erza not to drive?"

The ice mage groans as he stops the cars and steps down. "It wasn't easy. I had to promise her some strawberry cake"

The sage chuckles; "Good thinking... though she'll probably empty your pockets"

Slumping his shoulders, Gray knew full well Erza's love for sweets rivals Naruto's ramen addiction. His wallet was going to be thin for a while. Opening the car doors the ladies step out as well as a surprised Kageyama; "Th... They beat Erigor?"

"Good work guys!" Lucy cheers.

Naruto scratches the back of his head and smirks. "Hehe, it was no biggie really. We-WOAH!" Naruto takes Lucy's hand, pulling her away from the suddenly speeding magic car. The others also jump away as to step out of its course.

Taking advantage of his sudden fault in his guard, a claw of shadows extends from the ground, reaching into his clothes and pulling out the cursed flute. This one is caught by Kageyama who they realized was driving the vehicle.

He laughs in maniacal glee as he speeds off into the distance. "I have Lullaby! The Masters are as good as dead!"

Both Naruto and Erza growl as they take off running along with Natsu holding a still exhausted Happy and the others follow suite. "I should have bound his hands," the redhead curses out loud.

"There is no time to chide yourself, we have to catch that guy," Naruto fires back.

Running down the tracks none see a small figure sitting on a cliff close to them, his fox tail swaying slightly before vanishing.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As days turns to nightfall, a legion of Fiore soldiers march for Clover. New finally spread enough to mobilize the army into action against Eisenwald. Sitting on a tree near the building of guild masters' council, Kageyama looks on with a smile. He was almost done; their grand mission was nearly complete.

He grips the death flute in his right hand as he leans his left forearm on a tree. By the gods was he tired. "At this distance, those old geezers will hear the flute."

It was at that moment he heard the soft laughter of wizened voice. "Hihihi, these are some mighty fine dames indeed" The dark mage turns his head to find a diminutive old man dressed in colorful clothes, he was holding a naughty magazine close to his face.

The shadow mage sweatdrops hearing the old man muttering to himself as he stands putting the magazine behind his back. Makarov nearly jumps out of his clothes seeing someone was actually behind him.

"This is not what it looks like! I was just conducting important research!"

'Research'... That's what old geezers called it these days?

"- I've done nothing to be ashamed us!"

Kageyama waves it off chuckling; "No need to preach old man."

"Oh" The short old timer sighed in relief. "That's good" He then gives the dark mage a look, more specifically, his bandages. "Say, you're looking rather worse for wear young man. Maybe you should go to a hospital"

_This is Makarov Dreyar. The guild master of Fairy Tail_, Kageyama thought, remembering all the faces of the masters from his mission's briefing. "Oh don't worry, I feel fine… Say, would you care for a song?"

Makarov lifts his brow looking back at the young man.

Running through the forest path Erza, Naruto, and the others had found the now broken magic car abandoned and now were charging ahead to stop the dark mage. They are suddenly stopped by armored hand that had somehow grabbed all of them and pulled them behind some trees.

"Now, now" A male voice chides. They see a knight in orange and silver armor, his face hidden except for two red eyes behind a helm with a Y-shaped visor with intricate markings around it. "You should put a bit more trust in him"

"You are..." Erza starts with surprise and recognition in her voice. "Solaris, Master of the Sunreavers"

"And you must be Makarov's brood" The knight replies with amusement.

"Look, we don't have time for this" Naruto argues. "That guy has-"

"Shhh" A new voice intones. The newcomer was a large bellied... man wearing a dress and makeup. "The best part is about to start" He palms his cheek and coos at the male of the group. "Oh my, such handsome young lads you are"

The three males of Fairy plus a shocked Lucy physically recoil while Naruto literally jumps into a tree looking down; "You're still weird Bob-Jiji."

Waving it off, the cross-dressing mage only smiles looking up as Goldmine sighs rubbing his eyes; "At any rate just watch." He then sweatdrops at the sight of Gray and Natsu hiding behind Lucy from the Bob.

The armored guild master chuckles; "This shall be interesting"

And watch they did, and found Kageyama still hadn't played the deadly flute. In fact, he seemed to be struggling to do it, trembling and sweating.

Kageyama lifts the flute his lips. Not far away Solaris has the three male members of Fairy Tail in a headlock stopping them from interfering. Goldmine only smirks leaning his back on a tree; "Just be patient kids and watch."

_Come one, just do it...!_ The shadow mage thought desperately. _Play the damn song and kill them all. Make Eisenwald proud, show them you're strong and everything will be alright!_ The flute was at his lips, but he just couldn't blow the air from them. _Why are you hesitating?! This is exactly why the others looked down on you! Kill them and you'll be strong! Kill them and everything will change_!

"Are you going to play a tune? You should hurry and do it," Makarov says in a slight impatient tone.

"I..." Kageyama let out a ragged breath. "I..."

"You may think yourself weak" Makarov suddenly said, stunning the shadow mage. "But weakness is nothing to be ashamed of" Kageyama could only at the old mage in shock. "Humanity itself is a weak race by nature. People's insecurities are why guilds were first created. It's a reason comrades exist," Makarov speaks looking up at the young man. "They all come together and move forward, live life to the fullest."

Kageyama listens along with the others; "If you slip or fall along the way, your comrades will be there to help pick you up. And if you have faith and you keep moving forward for the future. Thus you will find your own strength."

"I consider myself weak on my own" The Third Master confessed before smirking proudly. "But when I'm with my Guild, with my family, there is absolutely no force of nature that can stop us when we are together"

The dark mage looked at the Master in awe. He had no reason to believe his words, to him they sounded so cheesy and worthless. And yet... there was something in the old man's eyes, and the sheer power in his voice simply compelled Kageyama to listen. It was more than the fear Erigor could inspire in him.

This old man though... he had no way to describe what he was feeling. He stared at the diminutive man and saw not a weak fly, but a mighty giant.

He falls to his knees, dropping the flute. "I... I surrender..."

Letting go of the boys Solaris chuckles watching the Fairy Tail youngsters run to Makarov; "Good kids." Bob and Goldmine nod in agreement.

"Master/Gramps/Jiji!" Hearing the voices of Erza, Lucy, Naruto, Natsu, and Gray. Makarov turns to see them running up to him with Happy flying around.

"OH! What you guys doing here?! GAK!" His head slammed into Erza's breastplate as she hugs him.

"That was well said master," the redhead beauty smiles. "You really moved me" She squishes even harder; to the point Makarov's eyes looked like they were going to pop out.

_HARD~!_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Not far away from there, a fox observed from atop the hills. His fur was white like the snow, and had golden colored fur markings around his face and other parts of his body, forming tribalistic patterns.

He narrows his vulpine eyes. "It's not over yet"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Lying on the ground where Kageyama dropped it. The three eyes of the demon flute began to glow a sick purple; "**Such weakness**!" A deep demonic voice echoes throughout the area. "**I grow tired of these foolish mortals**!"

Naruto looks over sharply with even Kyuubi narrowing his eyes awake for once. The Bijuu king growls; **"prepare yourself brat, you might want to use that seal on your arm unless you feel like dying."**

"The flute!" Lucy screams, and everyone watches in terror as a magical miasma emanates from the cursed instrument, it raises high into the air, becoming a cloud made of some sickly substance. It begins to take shape and turns into a large monstrosity. It was over fifty meters tall, and wooden-like in its demonic appearance, with many cutouts around its body, the creature possessed three eyes like the flute's head.

The demon chuckles maliciously. "**I think I'll just devour your souls myself**"

Kageyama only looks on; "They never said the flute did that!"

"Distasteful, a demon from the book of Zeref," Solaris growls before noticing the spiky blond boy was gone.

The Fiore legion that just arrived stops in terror as the giant wood demon looks down at them all. "Don't hesitate men! Attac-." His voice died in his throat as he and everyone else sees the massive demon sent flying backwards. The ground quakes as the massive demon hits hard onto the earth.

"If I never fought those demons around that one village, I would have never known just how strong I was using this."

Everyone looks up wide eye seeing Naruto literally floating in the air with his arm extended in a punch. But the masters took notice of a difference in the boy's eyes, now with a red tint around them and pupils golden color with a horizontal bar for irises. And his power also felt different as well.

"Huh" Goldmine muses with a hand to his chin, seemingly not at all disturbed by the sudden events. "You feel that?"

"Indeed" Bob nods. "It's like he quickly took in a good amount of ambient energy to empower himself"

Makarov flashes a haunting smirk; "Heh, told you my boys are the best"

The orange and silver knight nods in approval. "Impressive yes. But we shouldn't stand by" His hand goes to his hip, where there is a sheathed sword attached to his belt. "We must kill the monster quickly"

"Bah" Makarov waves him off. "No need. My brats are already on it"

It was then the Sunreavers Master noticed the rest of the young Fairies, with the exception of the young blonde woman, were no longer next to them, instead they had charged directly at the beast.

Natsu grins excitedly, fire escaping from his lips. "I ain't letting Naruto take all the fun!"

Standing back up from the sudden shocking strength of one person in the air, the wooden demon of sound throws it's claw at Naruto with vicious strength, only to miss as Naruto slaps the arm and spins in the air from the force, but unharmed thanks to his quick thinking.

In a brilliant white light, Ezra jumps into the sky, re-equipping her normal chest plate armor with her Knight form, large blades summoning around her as she flies at the demon. "You shall feel the sting of my sword!" Seeing Naruto falling in front of her, the redhead grabs onto his outstretched arm and throws him at the giant demon, following up by flying up at the arm swinging down at him. "**Trinity Sword**!" Slashing with both blades at once, a large delta formation spear point slashed into the arm, cutting into it and part of the demon's shoulder.

The Salamander of Fairy Tail himself roared as he jumped high into the air, large bellows of fire swinging like whips into the creature's stomach. "**FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK**!" The searing heat sizzles against the demon's stomach, weakening the bark for Naruto, who rushed in with a powerful Rasengan, grinding the weakened charred bark into bits, blowing a huge hole in the chest.

Seeing the large holes created by his team, the Ice mage who was lagging behind created a bow, with arrows fully at the ready he shoots them forth into the creature's legs and shoulders. The combined attacks make the demonic flute scream and fall back on its rear.

The Fiore legion watches in awe as their commander eyes are fixed at the four attacking the demon of Zeref; "Damn they're actually beating that thing back."

With the Guild master Lucy watches in sheer awe. "There so good." She gets an 'aye' from Happy in her arms.

Makarov only watches on with pride.

Launching in the air, Naruto flies through hand seals in preparation. "Alright, Time to show this thing the power we wield! Gray, Natsu, Ezra, in that order, GO!" Utilizing both palms, the blonde's sage jutsu combines with his attack to generate a supreme gust attack that would make anything Erigor use pale in comparison, forcing the demon to hit the ground from the sudden hurricane of an attack.

Naruto's order launches with Gray, as he slams his fist into his hand, grounding himself as best he can behind the wind attack for maximum effect. "**Ice Make Lance**!" Several spear tipped tendrils of ice fly into the monster at high speed, puncturing it several times over and snap freezing thanks to the winds force.

Seeing Ezra fly up and light up with her armor re-equip magic, Natsu slams his fists into each other. "Alright, time to roast this thing!" Breathing in, the fire wizard takes in a large amount of his inner fire to spout it into the stream of wind, the normally boulder-sized stream of fire growing into a mountainous firestorm, hitting the ice frozen demon and once again scorching the bark to a crisp. "**FIRE DRAGON ROAR**!"

Everyone watches as the combo pays off, however they soon notice Ezra changing into a slimmer and darker uniform of armor, cloth-like wings stretch as she launches into the wind carrying two narrow swords. "**Black Wing Moon Flash**!" With little hesitation, the wings pick up the wind coming from Naruto's Jutsu and thrust her glimmering magical attack into the demon, breaking a hole within the wooden body larger than the former Rasengan that Naruto used before gave.

This, however, only made the demon angrier, as it grabs Ezra, having flown through it, and tossed her at Naruto, who ended his Jutsu to catch her, falling to the ground from the extra weight. "**You vermin! HOW DARE YOU! This will be your undoing! I will end you, NOW**!"

Deep inside Naruto the ancient fox only snorts; **"This walking toothpick parades itself as a true demon, pathetic... Destroy this farce!"**

Glaring at the demon, Naruto turned to his team. "I need you to get him off balance, I want a full shot to his entire being, just give me that! GO!" Launching into the sky, the blonde sage begins to prepare his strongest attack.

Gripping her sword tight, Ezra launched into the air and flew straight for the creature. "Give him your all!" using all her might, the redhead slams her blade into the Demon as hard as she could muster, making it lean back in pain.

Seeing the demon flute creature try and re-balance itself, Gray forms an blade of ice in front of him, a spinning wheel of blades that he soon launches into its legs. "**Ice Make Saucer**!" The saucer of ice blades slams into the knees of the creature, and trips it with the force of its own need to correct its balance normally.

Falling face first to the ground, the demon quickly tries to stand up, its body shaking in rage. "**You… MONGRELS!**" He roars as dangerous amounts of magical energy gather on his maw, he turns to direct the attack at the larger group of people.

As soon as he was about to unleash his attack, the Demon sees a pink haired Fairy Tail wizard with flames building to an amazingly large amount. Natsu roars in power as he slams two large fireballs in his hands together. "Now I'm fired up! Take this! **Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame**!" With the force of a volcano, Natsu's attack grows into a bonfire that makes the demon turns his head as the blast it fired. It traveled through the sky until it collided upon a nearby mountain; it detonated into a monstrous blast, obliterating the giant earthen formation.

The soldiers stare stupefied at the sheer destruction. "N-No way…"

The Masters meanwhile can only grin, the orange and silver knight chuckles. "Now this is fun"

The Dragon Slayer's strike was strong enough to lift the demon into the air, turning its body from the force of the fire attack; its eyes widen to see a glowing light and a shadowed figure of a blonde sage under it. "**IMPOSSIBLE! THIS CAN'T BE REAL!**"

Above Naruto was a large swirling hurricane of wind and fire, bellowing around with enough heat that tree's around the entire town were shriveling and blowing away, the ball of fire in Naruto's hand roars with wind and wildfire. "Sorry, but you're not going to be living long enough to understand how powerful we are! _**Kaze Ryu Kasai Rasenshuriken**_!"

Upon the attacks name, the entire area, Gray and Ezra, along with Natsu, all witness as the Demon screams in horror to Naruto's attack. Throwing the sphere of fire and wind into the Demon, the fire deafens the witnesses with a roar, the fire and wind of the sphere turning into a dragon as it chomps down on the creature and implodes around it, shredding the once powerful death flute demon to barely splinters around the area.

For a moment there was silence. Everyone was too shocked to make even a sound.

Like glass shattering, it was broken by the loud cheer of victory coming from the rosette Dragon Slayer. "HEEEELL YEEEAAAH!"

Grey and Erza can only chuckle while Naruto openly laughs at his friend's exuberance.

Not too far away the Fiore legion also cheers as loud as they could as their commander just nods his head in approval. With Lucy and the guild masters, the buxom blond can't stop smiling as she cheers alongside Happy for their friends.

Makarov only smiles as Solaris stands beside him; "Good kids Makarov-dono." The elderly man only chuckles.

Goldmine shakes his head with a smile. "Brings back memories"

Bob giggles as he palms his face. "Your children are truly something special my old friend"

The small master can't help but smile proudly at his brats. "That they are... that they are" Seeing them like this, triumphant in the face of such odds... he couldn't ask for better children, no parent could be as proud as he felt at that moment.

"Uh... Makarov-dono" He feels the armored master, he sees the Sunreaver Master pointing at someplace. Following his finger, the Fairy Tail Master pales and gawks at the rubble that used to be the meeting place.

Apparently, it had been destroyed during with the fight...

And they weren't the only ones to notice it, a paling Naruto who landed back on the ground could only chuckles nervously; "Mira-Chan is going to kill me..."

Their master wept, already seeing the bills.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Not far from there, on the hills, the white fox had observed the entire valor. He had witnessed the spirit of these young warriors... as well as the evil of the demon.

"No matter the era, the world is always in danger" He turns his gaze to the stars. "I woke up for a reason, and no doubt my brethren will as well" He stands from his spot and turns, leaving only a trail of growing flowers with each step. "Awaken soon my kin, something is coming and we have slumbered for far too long... the world needs us again, and we must once more aid its people"

His return sent an echo throughout nature, so fast it nearly went unnoticed by some, but those who felt it knew that a strong change had come to Earthland, the awakening of ancient forces that would once more play a part in shaping the world like they had.

On an island with a giant tree. A dark haired mage smiled softly as he felt the shift in the wind, the call that resonated throughout nature. "At last..."

On fields of snow, a blue robed old man turned his attention to the sky. "Can it be?" He asked the heavens with hope in his voice. He felt joy, true joy... but also dread, for their awakening was also sure to bring very troubling times in the future.

Still, the smile could not be removed from his lips; "Now the real work begins."

**XXX ~ xxx ~ XXX ~ xxx ~ XXX**

_And here it is. We would like to thank _Godospartan the Kitsune _for helping us with the fight scenes._

_We would also like to inform you, if you haven't seen in the disclaimer of previous chapters, that we'd be expanding the Fairy Tail setting greatly, which will involve things on very large scales, such as lore, new people and cultures, and the nature of different worlds and what lies in between_


	6. Same old song and dance

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23

Action scenes done by: Godospartan the Kitsune

'And those who were seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music.'

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter 6: Same old song and dance

XxX ~ last time ~ XxX

_Not far from there, on the hills, the white fox had observed the entire valor. He had witnessed the spirit of these young warriors... as well as the evil of the demon._

_"No matter the era, the world is always in danger" He turns his gaze to the stars. "I woke up for a reason, and no doubt my brethren will as well" He stands from his spot and turns, leaving only a trail of growing flowers with each step. "Awaken soon my kin, something is coming and we have slumbered for far too long... the world needs us again, and we must once more aid its people"_

_His return sent an echo throughout nature, so fast it nearly went unnoticed by some, but those who felt it knew that a strong change had come to Earthland, the awakening of ancient forces that would once more play a part in shaping the world like they had._

_Upon an island with a giant tree. A dark haired mage smiled softly as he felt the shift in the wind, the call that resonated throughout nature. "At last..."_

_On fields of snow, a blue robed old man turned his attention to the sky. "Can it be?" He asked the heavens with hope in his voice. He felt joy, true joy... but also dread, for their awakening was also sure to bring very troubling times in the future._

_Still, the smile could not be removed from his lips; "Now the real work begins."_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Upon deciding that discretion was an important part of valor, Makarov and the Fairy Tail crew ran off before the Fiore legion threw them into prison for the destruction of the meeting building in Clover. Though both Natsu and Naruto had to avoid the angry glare from the miniature elderly man when seeing large damage done to the railroad where they fought Erigor. While the said ace of Eisenwald being nowhere in sight.

The blond Uzumaki lightly growls as they walk on the tracks; "Should have tied that bastard up."

"We were too focused on stopping Kageyama," Erza reasons. "If we don't catch him first, the council will eventually."

Naruto dryly eyes his friend; "Not holding my breath on the council. They should have had a better seal on that damn flute."

Makarov waves it off; "We can let the council worry about Erigor. I am proud of all you for stopping Eisenwald and Lullaby."

The young fairies smile proudly.

A vein soon pops into the Master's forehead. "But did you have to destroy the meeting hall?!" He shouts.

The smiles are obliterated, and they all soon hung their heads low in shame. "Sorry Master..." They mumble.

"Ugh these brats" The master muttered to himself. "Back in my day we didn't give our Masters so much trouble, we made sure not to destroy anything other than we had to destroy-"

"Oh gods" Gray sighs. "He's going to be like this the entire trip isn't he?"

As the ice mage foretold, the Master did indeed spend the trip grumbling to himself about 'brats' and their 'reckless behavior' and 'bills' among other things. All the while the Fairies had no choice but to endure their aged Master's rambling during their entire walk.

Eventually the arid landscape of clover was being left behind, and somewhat greener scenery took place. Not a lot of trees around in the empty road, and patches of pastures here and there.

"I bet the other Masters don't have to deal with crap like this-"

Naruto soon spotted something in the distance, a small town. Like a drowning man adrift in the sea, he latched to the sight like a life preserver, in this case, to save them from the master's unending rant.

"Look, a village!" He said desperately.

"Yeah..!" Natsu cheered. "About time, I'm hungry!"

"Hmm" The diminutive old man eyed the village. "I could go for a bite myself"

"At last" Lucy exhales in relief. "He stops..."

"Hey! I'm old; I'm allowed to complain all I want"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Walking into the edge of town they noticed a few things off. What should be normal crops growing brightly are now badly weeded and dry. "Well these people are having a bad harvest" The Titania comments.

"Ah man..." Happy whines in disappointment. "We're not gonna get food aren't we?"

Lucy shoots a dry look to the blue feline. "I'd be more worried about what these people are going through"

Naruto and Makarov both lift a brow when hearing a commotion further in town. Heading into the village square, it looked like everyone had gathered, and were quite angry by the sound of it. At the center of the angry mob was a long wooden pole, and tied to that pole was a cloaked figured. It was then that they noticed many of them were holding torches.

Gray's eyes slowly widen. "This... doesn't look good..."

"Burn the wizard!" A large bellied man shouts.

"They can't do this!" Lucy shouts in despair.

Makarov looks strangely calm and uninterested. He rolls his eyes and sighs. "Oh great, it's THIS kind of town..." He approaches the mob. "Alright, alright people" He calls for their attention, which he quickly gets. "What's going on here?"

A woman points at the cloaked figure. "She's a witch!" The mob roars with her words.

"...You do realize there are wizards everywhere right" He deadpans. "Hell, I can see you have a wizard among you" He points to a man wearing a large hat and a holding a staff.

The crowd, including the mage, looks uncomfortable. "Eh, yeah... But she's a bad witch!" The crowd shouts once more, raising their forks and torches.

Naruto says nothing as he simply looks at the crowd dryly.

The dragon slayer tilts his head; "She's a dark mage?" Natsu looks to Happy who shrugs. "So what did she do?"

Feeling curious, Lucy walks over to the cloaked figure, what she could see under the cloak is a red strapless front laced corset and black leather pants fitting snugly to a figure that could rival her own, with black mid-heel boots. Leaning a little further she gasps as she pulls back the hood.

Raven colored hair in a bob-cut lightly flows in the air, as her beautiful creamy color skin almost glows in the morning light, but none of those features grabs Makarov and Fairy tail crew's attention. No, it is the long pointed ears on the woman's beautiful oval face.

"She's an elf!" Lucy and the others are gawking.

"Sup?" The woman says cheerfully, as if not all bothered by the situation she was in.

Natsu and Happy gasp in shock, before pulling a confused face. "A what now..?"

"Yeeeaah" Naruto drawls. "I'm with them here, what now?"

Makarov face faults. "An elf..!" He taps both his ears. "Don't you see her pointy ears?"

"And Magnolia's mayor looks like a bobble head doll" The jinchuuriki points out. "Having pointy ears isn't the epitome of strangeness... Hell I think the other day I saw someone with pointy ears, not like hers though" The woman's ears were more delicate and small when compared to the bat-like ears he had seen on some people.

Makarov sighs. "Okay good point. But like you said, hers are different. She's an elf"

"You still haven't told us what that is..." Happy says.

"She turned our crops into nothing!" One of the townsfolk yells.

The elven woman looks dryly with her green eyes; "I just got here three days ago."

"She's right" Naruto points out. "Those crops looked to be weeks dead, I guess the soil's pH isn't exactly suitable" He notices the odd looks from his guild mates. "What?"

"Just..." Erza says delicately. "Never pegged you as a person to know this stuff... or any stuff"

"Hey!" He said indignantly. "I have hobbies!"

Gray dryly replies. "Yeah, like pulling pranks on everyone"

The blond Uzumaki glares over at the ice mage; "Next to pranks jackass I am into gardening. I have been since I was kid."

"You did mention that but I thought you were joking;" Lucy sheepishly chuckles.

The jinchuuriki only grumbles to himself. "So anyway" Makarov says, getting back on track. "This woman isn't responsible for your misfortune"

"She turned me in to a newt!" One of the villagers accuses.

Erza gives the man, for he didn't look like anything else much less a lizard, a long look. "A newt..?" She repeats in a bland tone.

"...I got better" He mumbles.

"Okay people;" Naruto raises his voice as he looks to the elven woman; "What's your name?"

"That would be Claire. And you're about the first person to even ask my name sweetie. Ever since I showed up here, all I have been getting were weird looks."

"Why do they blame you for their bad luck?"

Claire shifts her eyes awkwardly. "I was trying to impress a lass here. Got reaaally drunk, still am I think, and... Broke some stuff with magic. Next thing I know I got chained up and I guess they decided to blame everything else on me while they were at it"

"She cursed our town!" the town's people uproar.

They freeze up as Erza stares sternly at all of them; "How could she have cursed your town when she only just arrived?" Silence was their response; they soon shrink as she somehow looms over all of them. "WELL..?"

The crowd slowly backs away, shivering in terror. "O-On second thought, m-maybe we made a mistake" One of the townsfolk nervously chuckle before hurriedly going over the pole to unbind the elf. "H-Here you go dear, you're free to go" The people suddenly ran back into their homes, terrified of the red headed woman and the dark aura emanating from her.

"Cool" She tips her index and middle finger over her brow as she puts up her hood, binding them farewell. "Thanks a bunch guys, I'm outta here" She takes a step forwards, wobbles, tipped, and fell flat on her face. "...Yep, still drunk" Came her muffled response.

XxX ~ and then ~ XxX

Leaving the small town, the fairy tail group makes their trip back to Magnolia. "Well... That was different," Gray mutters.

"Got that right," Natsu says dryly getting an 'aye' from Happy.

"Some days I truly wonder about people;" Makarov sighs in exasperation with Naruto and Erza nodding in agreement.

"Hey," Lucy's eye twitches; "Can I ask something?"

"Yeah..?"

"WHY AM I CARRYING HER?!" She shouts. Clearly referring to the seemingly inebriated elf on her back.

"Well we can't just leave her in that place" Naruto points out.

"I agree, but couldn't you do it Naru?" The buxom blond looks pleadingly to her fellow blond.

The blond sage shrugs; "She said I wasn't her type."

"Oh…" Claire mumbles absently, her chin resting Lucy's shoulder. "You're cute sweetie, but I have a different preference."

He stares at her. "'Preferences' being...?"

She answers by suddenly groping Lucy's breasts. The Celestial mage stands frozen color both draining from her face and going up to her cheeks at the same time somehow.

"Hmm~" The raven haired elf smiles in appreciation. "Big and soft..."

Lucy squeaks and drops her to the ground, covering her chest with her arms. "You pervert!"

"Is admiring the beauty of the female form truly perverted?" The elf reasons with a mock serious look.

"Not at all," Makarov shakes his head smiling.

"DON"T ENCOURAGE HER!" Lucy yells at the elderly man.

"Anyway" Claire absently says. "I can't walk on my own, you know, I'm drunk and stuff"

"...You're not even trying to pretend you're drunk" The Ice mage points out.

The raven haired elf looks to Gray; "Not as bad as I was... Or is... Or was it were."

Seeing Lucy hiding behind Naruto and Erza, Makarov sighs; "Will you at least allow someone else to carry you with us back to Magnolia dear?"

"...Can it be the pretty redhead?" Claire flutters her eyelashes at Erza.

Crossing her arms the knight gives her a stern look. "I won't fall for your games you lusty fiend"

The elf proceeds to pout with a trembling lip, water gathering at the corner of her eyes and Erza suddenly felt absolutely wretched. "I-I thought you were a knight, that you helped people when they needed it" She sniffs. "I guess that armor is just for show..."

It was like someone had stabbed her in the heart with an icy dagger. All her life she struggled to uphold her beloved ideals, to fight for justice, to help the innocent like a true knight... and here she was denying someone aid when they required it.

"Your words... shame me" She speaks with raw emotion, her gauntlets clicking as she clenches her fist. "Forgive me, I was foolish. Here" She kneels down to her back turned to the elf. "I shall carry you in your time of need"

Claire couldn't mount her back faster, she was like a blur. "Thank you!"

"Played her like a fiddle," Naruto says dryly.

Gray nods; "Got that right."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Erza had to endure a lot while on the journey back to Magnolia, as the elf had, somehow, managed to slip her hands into her armor multiple times just to cop a feel. Causing Erza to angrily drop her, Claire repeat her act of the 'poor maiden in need' playing to Erza's code, so the Titania would pick her up again... until Claire once again groped her, only for them to repeat the whole charade over and over.

This was the fifteenth time by Naruto's count.

"Hmm~" The elf smiled. "You're very fit, I like that"

"That's it!" The knightess let her fall to the ground again.

She sobbed, "Where is your honor?" Erza stiffened.

Sixteen now...

By the time they reached the guild Claire was already walking on her own, her green eyes stare at the large letters sitting over the entrance with surprise. "Wait, your guild is Fairy Tail?" She breaks into a wide smile. "I've heard a lot about you from the queen"

Makarov and the others look shocked, save Erza who only glared daggers at the elven harlot. Ignoring the glare Claire chuckles as Naruto tilts his head; "You guys have a queen?"

"While my people, The Eldrin prefer the forests, we are not too much different from you humans."

"Oh you're Eldrin" The guild master says in realization. "How is lady Keishara these days?"

"Eh, wouldn't really know, I haven't been in the kingdom for some years. I heard things are alright there though"

It takes them a few seconds for the words to hit them. "Wait" Lucy nearly screeches. "You know their queen?!"

The small elderly mage waves it off; "Met her years ago. It was an honor." A vague answer even by Naruto's standards, but no one pressed. Makarov slumps at the letters; "Well, may as well get that over with." he soon looks to everyone; "why are you all standing there go inside you brats!"

_'Brats, HAH..!_' Claire mentally muses as she follows everyone in.

Natsu, being Natsu, kicks the doors open and greets everyone with an exuberant shout. "We're back!" followed by and 'aye sir' from Happy.

The Ice mage smirks proudly, "We came, we saw-"

"-and we kicked ass" Naruto finishes, and the two share a fist bump.

Mirajane smiles at them in joy, feeling very relieved at seeing hi... them in one piece. "Welcome home guys!"

Upon seeing his roommate and friend, Naruto pulled out Mira's necklace that still dangles around his neck as he walks to the bar. "Extra luck always helps."

Their resident bartender looks at the new arrival with curiosity. "And who's your friend?"

Before Naruto can say a word, he finds himself shoved aside to the ground by a wide smiling Claire. "Hellooo~ hotness..!"

Mira only blinks wide eyed, while Naruto glares standing back on his feet. "Um, hello... Welcome to Fairy Tail."

"If I knew so many gorgeous ladies were in this guild I would have come sooner," Claire leans in with a sultry tone. "And you are my beautiful lass?"

The elder Strauss can't help but blush as she smiles sheepishly. "I'm Mirajane Strauss. And you are?"

"Name's Claire and I knew I've seen you before! You're in all those magazines," She leans a bit closer to her. "Those swimsuit issues are my favorite"

A shiver runs down the spine of the white haired beauty as the elven woman is only a breath away from her; "Such a goddess should be treated with absolute care, and loved completely." Mira's blush went nearly atomic as their lips were inches away.

It was then that she noticed the attention the elf's act was gathering, the dropped jaws and wide eyes of pretty much every male present was unnerving her, so she quickly backed away from Claire. "A-Anyway" She started awkwardly, choosing to ignore the disappointed 'awww' she heard. "What brings you to our guild?"

A bright smile comes from Claire; "Your beautiful crimson knight and faithful companions saved me from these evil bad people."

The said crimson haired knight blushes before muttering 'harlot' under her breath. Macao lifts a brow to a twitching eye Naruto; "Her faithful companions..."

"She has a nag for chasing skirts" The jinchuuriki mutters.

The flare mage shrugs "Hey, if she joins she'll fit right in"

Cana only smiles; "I like her already, so let's treat her with some Fairy Tail charm shall we? Oi elfy..!" The card mage calls out to Claire, shaking a bottle with a smirk. "Want something to drink?"

In seconds Claire was at her side with her arms around Cana's shoulder; "Now we're talking!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After a few dozen cups later, the elf once again fell into a state of inebriation, regaling them with interesting and quite hilarious tales. "So this guy was all like 'Ar, I be the scourge is this here sea', wanted to act all tough and pirate-y but I wasn't buying it, so I kicked him in the 'nads and took his treasure"

A round of laughs came around the elven woman, Lucy sweatdrops sitting at the bar beside Naruto; "Yeah she fits right in with the nut cases around here." An 'aye' comes from Happy sitting on Naruto's shoulder eating a fish while Makarov snorts at his usual spot on the bar table.

"Say Claire?" The guild master gaining her attention.

"Yeap..?" The elf looks over to the bar smiling.

"Want to join my guild?"

"Sure, why not" Claire high fives Cana who both take drink.

Lucy's jaw is left hanging. "That was fast!"

The buxom blond freezes as Claire, somehow appears beside her, places a finger on her cheek gently stroking; "Sweetie I am five hundred years old, having nothing but time on my hands... I learn to go with just about anything."

One could hear a pin drop a thousand miles away due to the heavy silence that befell them after she said those words. Naruto cleared his throat. "Excuse me" He takes a sip from his mug before spitting it out in shock "WHAT?!"

"YOU'RE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OLD?!" The rest of the guild explodes.

"Eh" She shrugs. "Over four hundred at least. My kind doesn't keep a specific count"

As a dumbstruck Mira numbly places the official seal just under the elf's right collarbone, she gives a look to a stunned Makarov; "Considering you know the queen you're shocked about our lifespan? Especially since we can live roughly around four thousand years."

"It's the first time one of my brats it's actually older than me..." He muses. Ignoring said brats shouting 'Four thousand?!' He eventually shrugs and waves it off. "Whatever, you'll still be one of my brats regardless of your years"

Claire cups her hands; "Aww~! Thanks grandpa." Everyone soon face faults as the buxom elf hugs the small elderly man. Apparently by the large perverted smile on Makarov was enjoying his face in Claire's ample chest.

Getting back to seat, Naruto sweatdrops along with Mira who weakly smiles; "Well she is quite lively."

"I think she'll fit right in" The bartender replies cheerfully.

Claire meanwhile finishes downing another bottle, she hiccups and sways in her seat. "So I told her, 'Honey I don't care if you're a succubus, you can drain my life force all night long', hic!"

Gray rolls his eyes, "Great, another Cana..."

The elf glares at him in drunken anger. "What'cha called me?" She grabs the bottle and breaks it over the bar; she holds the remains as a weapon. "Say that to my face you asshole!" The ice mage slowly backs away.

Naruto sighs as he face palms, Mirajane just keeps smiling. "Right in..."

XxX ~ that night ~ XxX

With a deep sigh, Naruto slumps into the living room couch of his and Mira's home. Nothing like another brawl just after a big job to relax you right? Least Cana offered to take Claire in for the night till finding a place for her. Humming gently, Mira prepares supper.

Mirajane sings happily as she cuts some vegetables. "Sounds like you have quite the adventure. A demon of the Book of Zeref" She shakes her head in disbelief. "I heard stories about their power, luckily you all killed it before it could truly cause any harm"

The blond lazily tilts his head her way; "Would it be odd saying fighting Erigor was actually fun? We may use wind differently but we were dead serious even against each other."

"Honestly foxy," Mira shakes her head. She giggles looking up seeing him pout; "Well, least you had fun, and didn't break my necklace."

"... So all you were worried about was the necklace?" Naruto says dryly.

"It's an expensive necklace" She replied.

He smirked. "Then why did you give it to me in the first place" Naruto quipped.

Mira's eyes drift back to the cutting board; "Well I was worried about you... All of you. Just felt a little lucky charm would help," A faint blush dusts her cheeks.

He let out a short breath carrying a small laugh. "I think it did. Thank you Mira"

Praise the gods Naruto can be oblivious to obvious verbal slips as the white haired beauty mentally sighs; "So what next up for Team Foxy?" Finished cutting the veggies she puts them into the pot on the stove.

"...You don't mind helping looking around again," the blond rubs his chin.

"In finding a way back home," Mira said quietly with her back turned.

Counting of the guild's unofficial physician Porlyusica, only Makarov and Mirajane know the real truth of Naruto's origins. The trio respecting the blond's privacy and keeping it from the others in the Fairy Tail, both guild master and former 'S' class mage have been trying to help him find a way back to his world.

In two years, they've had no success.

"You know," She muses, trying to mask her sudden sadness with curiosity. "You never speak much of your home"

"Yeah, guess I don't" Naruto replies. "I told you I lived in a village called Konohagakure, the Village Hidden among the Leaves" He smiles nostalgically. "To me it was the most awesome place ever" His smile slowly falls; "Just... When I think about it, and everyone back home. Mom, Shizune-Neechan, Sakura-Chan, Kakashi-Sensei, The toads..."

"There is nothing wrong with being homesick," Mira says keep her back to the blond.

He sighs; "It's not just being homesick" His eyes are crestfallen and full of worry. "I... didn't tell you this before. But before I arrived here, some stuff was happening back in my world... I think we were on the brink of war" Turning swiftly, the elder Strauss's eyes widen and a soft gasp escapes through her lips. "So I keep thinking about what might have happening there, that I'm not there to protect them..."

He feels a comforting hand on his shoulder, and sees Mira looking at him with a soft gaze. "You can't think like that, you'll drive yourself crazy. And not one single person alone can take on all the world's problems. Trust in your mom and friends that they have fought whatever bad things have happened and came through it stronger," the white haired beauty smiles gently.

He nods slowly. "It's what I have to hold on to."

"Just that?" She asks with an emotion in her voice he can't quiet describe.

"Well, I have you... you guys I mean, the Guild, my friends here. It's..." He smiles. "It's good to know I have people like you in my life"

If he truly understood just how those words both filled her with joy, but also made her sad. '_I... We're just not enough to keep you with us…_' Mira blinks seeing Naruto wave a hand in front of her face; "Yes sorry."

"Are you okay Mira-Chan?"

"Yeah..." She says with a half forced smile before going back to the kitchen. "But enough with the gloomy mood, why don't I continue making your ramen?"

Hearing the blond saying he was going to wash up, as he gets off the couch walking up the stairs, a deep sigh comes from the take-over mage. She quickly rubs away the droplets seeping at her eyes.

XxX ~ next morning ~ XxX

Lucy, wearing a red t-shirt, a plated skirt and boots, hums in thought, a hand cupping her chin while she browses through the job board. In a simple dark orange shirt, black jeans, his sage coat, and sandals Naruto notices her from his place in the bar. "Looking for work?"

"Yeah, need to get rent money by the end of the week along with some shopping money," the buxom blond shifts her eyes to her fellow blond; "Want to come along?"

He shrugs, "Sure why not?" He stands up and looks over the board. "So what are you thinking?"

Cerulean and Brown scan the board before the celestial mage beams; "How about a treasure hunt near Peace Village." She pulls off the paper, looking to Naruto who takes the job request.

"Ancient treasures up for the taking," the blond Uzumaki mumbles as Claire stops beside him.

"Did you say Peace Village?" She asks.

"Yeah" He replies with a nod. "Why, you've been there before?"

She lets out a laugh. "Oh yeah. Trust me, the name is highly ironic" Letting out a small breath, the elf smirks; "Well I'll lend a hand. Need to get my feet wet in this guild business and all."

Before realizing it Mira was beside him looking at the job request; "Sounds like fun. Think I'll go to. Levy-Chan can take over for me."

Naruto looks at her worriedly. "You sure about that Mira? Claire said it's dangerous"

"You know I'm just going to follow you regardless right?"

He stares at her for a moment before sighing. "Alright..." Mirajane beams at him.

"Tch" The sound of displeasure coming from a corner of the guild didn't go unnoticed by them. They a tall young man, somewhat taller than Naruto, he had a muscular build and was dressed in dark pants, a purple shot with a fur-lined coat over his shoulders. He smirks at the ninja. "Going on a job with the new charity job of the Guild? Man, could you get any lower Naruto?"

Naruto glares over the master's grandson. "You better watch your words Laxus or I'll make you eat them"

Mirajane joins him in glaring at Laxus. "Claire is now a member of our guild Laxus. You should treat her as such"

"As another one of these morons? Yeah, I can do that"

A snort escapes from the elf's lips. "That was a good one" That earns her a few looks.

"Aren't you" Naruto stared. "Bothered by his attitude?"

"Should I?" She shrugs nonchalantly. "Meh, I've been called worse. I have heard quite few choice words by much more interesting people through my long years," Claire says lazily. "Youngsters do like to bark when they have things they think they have to prove."

The elf and leader of the Thunder Tribe only eye each other before Laxus snorts; "Least she has spunk."

"Now!" The raven haired elf claps her hands. "Let's go on an adventure!" She promptly grabs a large mug filled with beer. "One for the road!" And swiftly empties its contents. She swipes her lips clean before serving herself another mug. "Well it's a long road so..." She begins downing mug after mug.

Lucy rolls her eyes, while Mira just giggles at the elf's antic. Meanwhile, Naruto and Laxus keep their eyes on each other. Thankfully a fight didn't break between them, mostly due to Mira's prevention, though it did not stopped either one from giving the other a verbal tongue lashing.

Although Naruto had to shake his head at Cana taking bets on when the two blonds would duke it out.

XxX ~ Era ~ XxX

A deep sigh escapes a few of the council members as they go over the incident with the dark guild Eisenwald and Fairy Tail. "Do we have any idea how the hell a dark mage got through our barrier and retrieved Lullaby?" and elder man with cat shaped ears rubs his eyes.

Councilman Yajima shakes his head; "It's under investigation. But so far nothing… A lot of lives would have been in great danger if not for fairy Tail stopping them." And image shows Naruto throwing his dual elemental Rasenshuriken and the demon flute in Clover.

"Well" The blue haired councilman, Siegrain, chuckles softly. "Once more they show what they are capable of."

Belno rubs her temples. "Just wish they haven't destroyed the Guild meetings building. Makarov's brood is always making a mess while solving another..."

With a one close eye, councilman Org looks at the destroyed remnants of the demonic flute in a sealed case; "What kind of attack was that from Uzumaki anyways?"

The others shrugged as Ultear only smiles watching the scenes, "It was powerful enough to destroy a demon of Zeref. No easy feat. Of course the combined efforts of Titania, Salamander, Gray Fullbuster, and Uzumaki have weakened it for that move to be able to finish it off."

Crawford Seam strokes his beard with a thoughtful frown, "They are getting reckless again..." He raises his voice for the whole council to hear him. "We need to show we are still in charge. On charges of destruction on Council's, as well as Clover's property, send for two of their members to be arrested and detain them for a day. Scarlet and the Uzumaki will do"

"Should we send in Selene?" Leiji asked.

Crawford dismissed him. "No need, Makarov will know what this will be about"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the group of four embarked on their journey, Lucy, Mirajane and Naruto couldn't help but think about their newest member's capabilities.

Sure, she claimed to be over four hundred years, but she acted so... aloof most of the time, hardly with a care in the world. Case in point, the village which tried to execute her and she didn't even bat an eye. She also acted very, very differently for an elf, at least, to Mirajane and Lucy who had heard stories about the mysterious elven kind.

Naruto wondered what type of magics of she wielded, realizing they had never bothered to ask her what type of magic she did... One would think that'd be the first thing Master would ask before inviting someone to join Fairy Tail, but at this point he really couldn't tell with the old man anymore.

A scowl crosses Lucy's lips; "Geez did that guy have to be so rude. Who was he anyways?"

"That glorious example of a proper douchebag was Laxus Dreyar. Jiji's grandson," the buxom blond gawks as the young sage nods; "Yeah, my thoughts exactly when first I learned... I'm surprised Natsu did not try to fight him.

Mira spoke up in that; "Natsu is with Happy out fishing. Erza is cleaning her weapons and armor at the dorm, while I think Gray went on a mission outside town."

The Celestial mage nods before turning to the elf. "So why do you say this village has an ironic name?"

"Oh between the occasional raiders, the nests of monsters surrounding the village, and the fact that it's built upon the ruins of an old civilization which gathers a lot of attention from evil spirits, Peace Village gathers quite a bit of trouble" She explains. "We should go somewhere nicer next time, like Slaughter Valley or Despair Town, those are lovely place this time of the year"

The three humans around the elf sweatdrop as Lucy shakes; "And here I thought this be a simple look for hidden treasures and gain some huge fortune."

At that Claire laughs; "silly girl, you had to say it."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They eventually arrived at a village surrounded by tall wooden walls, its gate sealed shut. "Hello" Naruto calls. "Is anyone there?"

They are greeted by the sight of dozens of angry looking villagers armed to the teeth, be it with bows, crossbows, rifles and other vintage weapons. Lucy squeaked at the sight, immediately rising her arms in surrender.

"Yeah..." Claire drawled. "I should have mentioned these people are a bit paranoid and overprotective of their town"

Instead of saying a word Naruto lifts the job request paper in hand. Looking at it a lady with a crossbow snorts; "You're looking for Old Man Ben, Will let you in but no funny stuff you hear?"

"Excuse me," Mira ask politely. "Where is Mr. Ben's house?"

A man with a large club grumbles; "At the end of the village, trust me you won't miss it."

Soon as they stepped inside they received nothing but glares filled with suspicion, Claire hadn't been lying when she said these people were wary of strangers. Nearing the end of the village they saw a rather worn down log house, suspecting that to be their client's abode, Naruto knocked on the door.

The door partially opens, revealing half the visage of a short old man with a balding head and long white beard. "What do you want?"

"Are perhaps mister Old Man Ben?" Naruto asks, and Mirajane slaps his arm.

"Don't be rude"

The man looks at them for a moment. "Yes that's me, Old Man Ben"

Mirajane blinks in confusion. "Wait, that's your name?"

"Yep. Sixty years ago I was Young Man Ben"

The Fairies share a look among themselves.

"It's a family tradition"

"Riiiight" Lucy says slowly. "So, we're here for a job you posted"

Old man Ben's eyes widen; "Really?" He opens the door fully, the four gawk seeing the man wearing a fully body furry bear pajamas. "I never thought anyone would even try for that. Come in, come in! Makes yourselves at home"

At his invitation they step inside... and immediately regret it, the place smelled like something had exploded inside. It was filled with very old and poorly keep furniture.

"Sorry for the mess. I don't a lot of visits these days"

'_Clearly_' was the collective thought of all four of them. Naruto hearing the old fox snort.

The elder Strauss clears her throat and asks. "What is this job about? The add said it was about finding a treasure, but after that it was very vague"

"Ah yes" The old man begins looking through a drawer. "Back in my youth, my partner Creston and I went exploring some ruins a couple of miles from here. We followed old stories about a gem with the power to keep monsters at bay" He lets out an irritated grunt as he apparently doesn't find what he was looking for. He steps over a chair and begins looking over a cabinet. "Peace has the misfortune of being right in between nests of various monsters. Giant spiders, man-eating lizards, flying squirrels that shoot beams out of their eyes..."

Naruto stares at that. "Woah for real..?"

"Hmph, yes, and nasty little bastards" He steps down of the chair and begins looking under his bed. "So, Creston and I figured we could do something to protect the village so we decided to go after the gem" He sighs. "But the place was filled with monsters, Creston died and I barely got away with my life" He finally stands up, holding a box he had found under the bed. "We had this crystal that would shine if one were to point it in the direction of the gem, but neither I nor anyone on this village can brave that place, that's why I posted the job"

"So that crystal is in that box?" Lucy reasons.

"Kinda" He replies, much to their confusion. "You see, one of the monsters we found in the ruins could spit acid, poor Creston was holding the crystal in his hand when he tried to shield his face, for all the good that it did to him..."

Mirajane slowly connects the dots and begins to pale. "So... inside that box…"

Old Man Ben promptly opens it, revealing a skull with a misshapen crystal attached to the forehead. "This is my old friend Creston, I'm sure he'd be delighted to meet you were he not, you know, dead and all..."

Claire was thankfully fast enough to catch Lucy as she fainted, prompting old man Ben to tilt his head; "It's only a severed head girl. Don't see the whole fuss in it."

Both Naruto and Mira sweatdrop; _'of course you wouldn't_'

"So..." Naruto starts. "Who's going to carry-Not it!"

"Not it!" Mira followed suit.

"Not it!" Claire shouted. All eyes fall on the unconscious Lucy. "Well, you snooze you lose pal"

XxX ~ outside the village ~ XxX

"Come on guys... Why do I have to carry it?!"

"Because you snoozed and lost" Claire explains. "Come on, that's an universal law, even older than my people"

The blonde was inconsolable as she continued to hold at a distance a bag in which carried the skull they needed. "Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god, I'm carrying a skull..." She wailed.

On a random thought, Naruto wanted to mention he's seen people haul corpses back to his village for examining. But he had a feeling that would just make it worse for his fellow blond. "Look on the bright side..."

"WHAT BRIGHT SIDE?!"

"We're here"

They reached a cave with an arch door made of stone at the entrance, the cut of the stone showed clear signs of being weathered by the passage of time. Along the arch there was an in scripture in an old language they couldn't understand.

Claire whistles. "This place must be older than me" She leans closer to the stone to read the worn down letters. "Hmm..."

"Can you understand what it says?" Naruto asks.

"It's really worn" She muses. "But... I think this is dwarven" She immediately scowls. "A dwarven ruin, great" Her voice drips with sarcasm. The others lift a brow at the elf that looks at them dryly; "I am amazed he actually made it out of this place. Those bearded blowhards love putting all kinds of traps and what not in their places. Everyone keep on your toes, senses sharp!"

Without further ado, they entered the ruin, unknowingly being followed a white furred fox with golden markings around its body.

As soon as they stepped inside, they began descending down a staircase partially buried by earth and stone. By Naruto's estimate they must have descended at least twenty meters in a narrow path until they finally entered into the main chamber, where they were left in awe.

It was almost like an entire underground city, large stone buildings of detailed geometrical design, great statues of stout bearded warriors carrying different types of weapon, some of them crumbling or buried beneath the earth. Right ahead of them they could see a large number of small stone structures placed around an obelisk-like structure in a circular motion.

"That's a market" Claire said in realization before taking a good look around her surroundings. "Hmm, this is an old lost dwarven settlement. The gem Ben described sounds like it could be something the dwarves could have made to stop underground creatures from entering their city"

"This place is so beautiful," Mira says breathlessly. Lucy nods in pure awe with Plue hanging on her shoulder.

Claire shrugs; "Well they are master builders and smiths, I have to give them that. When they make something, it lasts for a loooong time."

"I know a dwarf who does some business in Magnolia." Naruto says absently looking around. "He's an old grouch but the best at making weapons," He had an overall good opinion of their craft, despite getting into a brawl all over town with short bearded man calling his kunai pansy toothpicks.

"Why is this place abandoned?" Lucy asks.

"Why are there so many ruins around Ishgar?" Claire retorts. "Because something big and dangerous happened long ago. It's the same for all kinds of people, some lived here, some lived there, someone perhaps did something stupid and it bit them in the ass, or something bad and angry came their way and decided 'Hey, let's wreck their stuff, that'll be fun'"

A little on the cynical side, but no one pressed. Mira did remember something bad happened a really long time ago, but not much, history was Levy's department. Walking through the market, their resident elf speaks up; "If you happen to find anything like jewelry, gems, or gold take it. Dwarven antiques bring in a lot of money."

A glow suddenly caught their attention, it was coming the bag which carried the skull with the crystal on it. Testing it, Lucy moved it from side to sight, the light dimmed and finally died out when it went too far to the right, and re-ignited when she moved it left again.

Naruto looked to the left where the bag was pointing, and saw a large staircase leading up to complex of buildings. "Guess that's where we need to go"

As the four enter a corridor, the white fox watches them curiously on a broken arch above them. The darken passage is illuminated by small ball of light from Claire's hand. The ball of light soon floats above all of them as they make their way through.

Mira looks to the orb; "Light magic?"

"Hehe" She chuckles. "Elven light magic. You see-" She stops and her expression shifts completely, turning serious. Her ears twitch a few times.

Naruto looks at her; "What's wron-"

"Shhh" He is quickly shushed by the elf. "Something's coming"

Lucy looks all around her. "I don't hear-"

Suddenly, the echo of heavy footsteps fills the underground chambers. They were numerous and fast, indicative of a force superior in number. The growl stronger the closer they get, Naruto prepares to fight, while Mirajane proceeds to stand next to Lucy.

Claire's gaze shots up. "There!" They raise their heads to the rocky ceiling, and pale at the sight of a gigantic centipede, its baleful red eyes stare at them hungrily.

The creature roars, shaking the entire cave, it twists its long body, leaving the ceiling but still connected to it, it was so long it could probably touch both the top and the floor at the same time. Naruto swiftly went through some hand seals, but Claire had already backflipped, gathered the blue light in her hand and shaped it into the form of a bow, readying an arrow of energy on its shimmering string.

She let loose the bolt, this one flying true towards the gaping fanged maw of the great centipede, it pierced perfectly perpendicular to its stretching body, cleaving through flesh and organs with burning energy. Green ichor spilled in torrents from its body, which soon helplessly to the stone floor before them, shaking the ground all around them.

Naruto whistled in appreciation. "Nice"

Lucy stared at the elf amazed. "What kind of light magic was that?" The light magic she knew was golden in color, but the one that Claire had casted was a pure azure.

The elf smirks. "This is the magic of the elves, Starlight Magic. In the most basic sense its caster and maker magic for whom the user can create anything we want," Claire winks.

Mira taps her chin as Naruto speaks; "Like Gray's ice magic."

"Well, Ice Make can make a greater variety of things as its solid matter. But with starlight we can cast more ritualistic spells" She giggles seeing her new human friends looking fascinated; "I will gladly show everyone back at the guild. Let's go."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

At the dwarven market, the white fox narrows his eyes seeing ten people coming inside. He stays hidden at the top of a building as they converse quietly. "Did you see that guy, three hotties with him and he brought them here."

One of the men snorts; "Let them do the work. When they take care of 'it' we kill the guy and take the ladies and the treasure."

The fox decides to sit back and wait, he needed to further assess the youngsters.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Claire looks left and right as she pass through a wide corridor. "Well, so far we haven't activated any kind of mechanisms designed to kill intruders. Which means something big must be awaiting us at the end."

The jinchuuriki narrows his eyes. "Just because we've made it this far without many difficulties or setting off traps doesn't mean there is-Oh gods there is something big waiting for us at the end isn't it?"

"Most likely"

He sighs as he palms his face. "I should just get used to expecting crap like this..."

Mirajane looks at the elf with curiosity. "What do you think is guarding the gem?"

"Knowing dwarves, something far too big for it to have been created by people so short. My guess is a Sentinel"

"A what now?"

"Giant dwarven statue-robot thingy, a big thing animated by magic and machinery" The elf shivers; "Faced a few from time to time. And they are a royal pain."

The blond Uzumaki slumps; "Oh joy..."

"Well," Mira hums. "Look at it as extra training Foxy. Besides, you can brag to Natsu you beat up a giant dwarven sentinel."

Naruto gives her a dry look. "You know that will only motivate him to be even more reckless right?"

"That's part of what makes him Natsu" Mirajane just gives him a cheery smile.

Peaking her interesting Claire tilts her head to the two; "The rosette haired boy right?" everyone nods. "What's his magic anyways?"

"Fire dragon slayer," Mira says casually.

The elf, much to their confusion, promptly makes a choking sound. "Wait, he's a what?!" She sputters with eyes wide open. "I mean- How?! The dragons are practically extinct!"

Mira shrugs as Naruto takes over; "All we know is Natsu's dad, Igneel vanished around X777. He was the one who found him as a baby and raised him, Natsu's been looking for him ever since."

"That scarf was a gift from Igneel," Lucy speaks up quietly while holding Plue.

"Igneel?" Claire repeats incredulously. "The Flame Dragon King?"

The three others look among themselves. "You've heard of him?" Lucy asks.

Claire shortly raises her arms before letting them fall again. "Among dragons he was a very renowned figure, even the elves knew of him"

"Did you ever meet him?" the white haired asks as they keep walking.

The elf shakes her head; "I only ever heard stories. Back then things were in chaos during the Dragon Wars."

Naruto nods slowly before the full meaning of her words hit him and the others, who then proceeded to stare at her in shock. "Wait, Dragon Wars?!" He exclaimed loudly. "What do you mean by 'Dragon Wars'?"

Both Lucy and Claire lifts a brow at him; "You never heard Naru?" The buxom blond sounding surprised.

"Someone wasn't paying attention during history class;" Claire smirks jokingly.

Only Mira could see that the embarrassment in Naruto's face he rubs the back of his head was fake; "Was probably asleep. So care to fill me in?"

"I heard stories about how dragons once roamed the lands" Lucy explained. "But something happened that caused them to fight among themselves. Most scholars believed they drove themselves to extinction during that conflict"

Naruto stared at her. "Yet Natsu was raised by one, who later disappeared"

A sad grim smile crosses Claire's lips; "I really don't like remembering that time. Too many bad things happened that left Earthland into such a mess..."

**"Hehehe"** He hears rather cruel laugh in his head. **"And here you thought Earthland was such as a peaceful place"**

_'Shut it furball'_

**"It may present a nicer visage, but underneath it all lies a broken and sundered world besieged by war and tragedy, just like ours..." **The old fox paused for a moment before turning serious**; "Dragons were deeply feared even in our world. Even I avoided them, until it was unavoidable. There was a reason a few well known islands became lost in our world's history brat."**

_'That's another world fox'_

**"Look kit, some things are constant enough, universal truths you could say, that even I know of them. Humans? They spread like vermin in every corner of creation apparently. And dragons? Few races or beings can embody raw power as well as dragons can"**

Naruto let those words sink in as a question came through; _'Can you beat a dragon?'_

At hearing the question the Bijuu king snorts. **"Well I can, because I'm a huge mass of magnificent primordial power"** The jinchuuriki had to roll his eyes at that. **"But even then, dragons vary in power just like all other beings, there were a few back in the day who could teach me a lesson or two in a fight"** Naruto knew the fox wasn't being prideful, he truly meant he had known dragons of unbelievable power who had in fact trashed even him. **"For all other beings, dragons are a tad more difficult... and by that I mean facing one is suicidal if you don't know what you're doing or if you don't have the right tools"**

Feeling a tiny palm on his cheek, Naruto blinks seeing Plue on his shoulder tapping at him. He also notices Mira, Lucy, and Claire looking at him with concern; "Are you alright Naru? You fell behind and looked like you zoned out on us," the buxom celestial mage asks gently.

"Yeah, I'm okay" He said bluffing. "Just trying to wrap my mind about what happened to the dragons and Natsu's dad"

Lifting a brow, Claire shrugs it off as she starts walking again. Lucy smiles as she takes back Plue from her fellow blond who pets the little spirit catching up their elven friend. Only Mira remains as she looks at Naruto quietly.

"Are you sure okay?" Mirajane asks with a concern tone. "Now that I think about it, this is not the first time you've zoned out like that"

Sighing, the blond Uzumaki places his hands on Mira's shoulders rubbing them gently; "I'm okay Mira-chan, really. I just get lost in thought once in a while."

It felt like a knife twisting in his insides. Lying to someone like Mirajane, who's been at his side at the beginning of coming to Earthland. But he was just not comfortable in explaining how he has a mountain sized all powerful demonic kitsune stuck in his gut.

**"But it's for the best isn't it?"** He heard the fox's voice once more, feeling nothing but vile glee in it. **"The less they know, the easier for you to fit in, to better forget about that place you used to call home"**

Naruto promptly ignored the fox who only chuckled at his container's internal discomfort. The boy could speak all the bravado he wanted, his so called 'determination' in wanting to going home. The Kyuubi truly knew what the boy wanted deep in his heart.

"...Let's get going Mira-chan" Was the only thing he said before carrying forward. Mirajane looks at him for a second before following suit.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The elf surveys the path ahead. "We're nearing a big chamber" She announces before turning to look at the glow in Lucy's bag, it was glowing far more intensely than before. "And I'd say that's where the gem is"

"There really weren't a lot of active traps here" Naruto mused. They had run into one or two but hardly anything threatening for them.

Lucy stared at him incredulously. "Are you actually disappointed?"

"Little bit..."

"They must have been triggered by old raiders or monsters" The elf reasons. She soon grins as they enter the chamber.

They stare in awe at the room which was at least as large as a five story building, murals depicting geometrical carvings of the dwarven people, their creations, and their lifestyle, filled the place. Behind them was a giant statue of stone and metal, dressed as a warrior and armed with great axe, a horned helmet covered its features, but the carvings of a thick beard were visible over the collarbone.

At the center of the chamber was a broken section of stone stands, atop them was a single shining blue gem.

"...Okay... This is awesome," Naruto smirks as Mira absently nods in awe.

Taking out the skull from the bag, the jewel resonates brightly. They notice the gem was also beginning glow uniquely, sort of like a pulse.

"I'm gonna go on a hunch here" The elf starts with a smile. "And say that is what we're looking for"

Lucy nods enthusiastically as she approaches it. Naruto immediately pales, "Lucy wait!"

His fellow blonde just stares at him in confusion. "Huh? What is it?"

"Don't you ever see the movies?! When you take the treasure something bad happens!"

Lucy sweatdrops. "I don't think that really happens..."

"Yeah it does" Claire nods in agreement. "Like the big Sentinel in the room suddenly activating for example"

The other three remain silent for a few seconds. "You mean to tell us that THING" The Celestial mage points at the great statue in the chamber. "Is the Sentinel?"

A nonchalant nod from the elf only made both blonds gawk, "If we are really careful it won't activate."

Mira only looks wide eyed at the giant stone figure; "and if we're not careful?"

"Get ready for a fight, or end up like that thing," pointing to her right, the other follow the elf's finger seeing a monster's skeleton. The skull shattered into pieces only made the three humans gulp unconsciously.

"W-What can we expect if it does activate?" Naruto asks, eyes still on the dormant automaton.

"Depends on the type" The elf shrugs before giving the construct a good look. "This one appears to be a simple warrior type construct, but still incredibly deadly. Tch" She snorts. "Typical dwarves, 'we small, let's make things big. Let's give big thing a bigger kill-y thing. That make us big, we smash'" The sardonic tone so filled with contempt had them raise an eyebrow at her.

"You don't like dwarves do you?" Lucy asks dryly.

"Dwarves and elves, news flash we don't get along. Long story, don't ask"

The three sweatdrop as Lucy looks to Naruto who shrugs. Lifting the skull above her head, it lifts from her grasp. The jewel soon floats close to the gem as it pulses brighter.

The four cover their eyes as beam of light hits the jewel. The sheer brightness illuminates the room till in a flash it vanishes. Lowering their arms, they see the jewel, glowing with an ethereal white light, float back into Lucy's hands.

All release a large collected breathes of relief, Lucy soon smiles to the others; "Well mission com..." they froze as the entire room shook. They look to see the gem beginning to crack, and then shatters. Claire sneers with a growl; "Oh those ale swilling shits..."

"Claire," Naruto says, keeping his gaze of the sentinel.

The said elf only snarls; "It's a dwarven trail. Taking the energy from the gem starts it up!" She looks back to the door where a magic seal appears. "It won't let us out till we beat that thing!"

Slowly the fingers of the sentinel begin to move, Naruto narrows his eyes; "Lucy," The buxom blond looks fearfully at her friend; "Summon Taurus, he'd be a big help. Then you and Mira find a good hiding place."

**Open: Gate of the golden bull! Taurus****!**

Erupting from the ground the giant cow man flexes his muscles. Without saying a word, Mira grabs Lucy's wrist as they run off to find cover over a crumbled section of a wall.

Seeing the large metal construct, Taurus only flares his nostrils, steam blowing from them as he gets ready for battle. Looking over to see Naruto, he knew what to expect. However, what really got to him was seeing an elven woman right beside him. "Well helloo~, who's this lovely sight? Care to introduce us there blondie?"

In their hidden area watching, Lucy only facepalms while Mira giggles. The blond Uzumaki looks dryly at the large spirit who has hearts in his eyes; "That is Claire Bull-man, and before you start she's into girls only."

Taurus only froze in place looking wide eyed as the elven woman nods with a prideful grin. Both human and elf however soon sweatdrop seeing a dribble of blood from the celestial spirit's nose. "I could guess what you're thinking, but I'm afraid to know the specifics…" Naruto mutters.

Through their short talk, the Sentinel did not stop, and was already raising its axe up to strike. As the hiss of the steam screams, the team looked in time to dodge. Jumping away, Naruto and Claire separate as the axe smashes into the ground, causing the floor to quake.

Quickly rising up, Naruto leaps for the Sentinel, grabbing onto its arm as it lifts up. "Clair, need a distraction!"

"On it," Using her Starlight magic like, the elf creates her bow firing several arrows at the massive machine. Turning its head, the dwarven construct took the bait as Claire ducks and weaves, and fires arrows. She leaps away to evade the swung of its axe.

Having used the swinging momentum of the mechanical arm, Naruto launches himself into the air and creates an Odama Rasengan, not fooling around as he falls upon the large battle robot's back with grinding efficiency. Taking the blunt of the attack without flinching, the Sentinel turned and swung hard at Naruto, narrowly missing as Naruto jumped away. Seeing the shine he put on the thing's back, the blond sighs. "If fighting things doesn't work out, I can be a polisher of dwarven items."

Under them, the Celestial Bull swings with all his might at the thing's leg, though his giant axe couldn't not cut the metal, his power was enough to trip the thing. Seeing this, Naruto leaps from the robotic construct and latches onto the nearby wall. Claire stepped back a bit, huffing. "Those damn dwarves could craft, but there is always a way to beat these things…Wait!" And idea hit her. "It's power core! If we can find its power core we can take it out!"

"Where is it usually?" Mira yells out.

"At the center. Shatter the Lacrima charging this thing and its dust," Claire skids to one knee firing an arrow.

Taking a good look at the front of the giant construct Naruto sweatdrops; "Uh in case you haven't noticed there is a shit ton of metal on the chest."

Claire's eye twitches; "Did I say it was easy you smart ass!?"

Point taken, Naruto tries to think of a way through. As the arrows hit the metal, he noticed a small energy discharge flowing through the metal. "Wait... Claire, can you use Starlight to enhance a weapon?!"

At that the elf lifts a brow; "Yeah why?"

"Got an idea, hang on!" The blond goes through rapid hand seals before extending his right arm with his palm open, and left hand holding his wrist.

_**Raiton: Museifu!**_

Four arches of lightning explode from the young sage's hand hitting the sentinel dead on. The construct staggers back a few steps, the electrical current messing with its mechanism, they could hear the grind of gears malfunctioning as the automaton's back crashed against the wall, its limb twitching erratically.

Swiftly unrolling a scroll, Naruto unseals the handle of blade-less weapons. With enough application of his chakra, a shimmering blade of lightning comes forth into existence. "Quickly, enhance this!"

"On it!" Light shines on the tips of her index and middle fingers; she quickly traces a form of lettering in the air, making vanishing patterns of light.

A blue magic circle spawns right underneath the Uzumaki, channeling power to the blade. Tendrils of magic surround the lightning, wrapping around its shimmering form changing from yellow to blue. "Nice!" Naruto jumps over the Sentinel's chest, and pierces right through the plating, slowly bringing the blade down to create an opening.

Unfortunately the automaton was beginning to shrug off the effects of his previous attack, a giant metallic rose ready to squash him like a bug. Naruto stared in panic as the hand quickly got closer to him, but a bolt of blue light threw the arm away, hitting the wall, followed by stakes of azure energy burying themselves on the wall around the arm. Threads of shimmering light weaved over the mechanical limb from the stakes' end, trapping it in a net of energy.

"Got your back!" The elf shouted. Naruto nodded in thanks before continuing opening the chest piece.

That was when the other arm came up, holding the axe closely by the shoulder. "Ah hell," Naruto lightly mutters.

"NARUTO MOVE!" Mira screams out as her eyes widen.

The blond growls before Taurus's axe blocks the Sentinel's. Veins were visible as the bull man strains gashing his teeth, holding the back the massive weapon with all his might. "Thank you big guy!"

Steam burst from bull spirit's nostrils. "For Miss Lucy's boobs, I shall protect you!"

Said blushing buxom blonde shouts in outrage. "What does that have to do with anything?!"

Having no time to deal with the lunacy, Naruto carried on his task. The blade managed to make a large enough opening for him to fit his entire arm, taking a peek inside, he saw the partially melted plates and gears underneath, behind all the metal he found a glimmer of light coming out of a shining spherical crystal.

"There!" He took positioned his swords and prepared himself to plunge deeply into the opening.

"Watch out!" Claire shouted.

The energy bindings holding the arm against the wall fizzled out as the mechanical limb tore them apart, swatting Naruto and Taurus away like flies.

Skidding along the ground on both feet, Naruto stares as the construct pulled itself back up. The hole was wide enough for his arm, but the core was off to the side, a direct shot by an arrow wasn't possible. They would have to do so some more work to pry that thing open. "Shit... I managed to cut it, but that metal is still too tough."

Bounding behind him, Claire just grunts in frustration. "It's both a blessing and a curse, how they made these things to last. Great craftsmanship, but why do they have to make them traps?"

Naruto frowns as he forms a rasengan in his hand, "I'm gonna make that hole wider, get ready to take the shot"

The elf nods in reply, forming another arrow of light in her bow before taking aim and readying herself. "Get on it"

Having to duck out of the way, the trio watch as the thing clanks, steam pouring out of its orifices and its turning becoming faster, striking unbelievably swift for Naruto. Rolling out of the way between the Sentinels legs, Naruto jumps up and starts climbing the things back. As it tries to shake him off, he clings on. "Yo, How about some help here Bull-man?"

Racing for the legs, the Celestial Spirit rammed into the leg, trying to tackle the thing once more, only for the leg to snap back, and then kicks like. With a stunned look, it almost got too close but Taurus had managed to block the kick with his axe, allowing him to safely survive the strike but it blew him away, he embedded the weapon to ground as to anchor him. "He's not going down without a fight!"

From her hiding place, Lucy had a sudden idea. "Claire, enchant Taurus' axe! He might cut into the metal and pry the thing's chest open!" With a quick wave of her hand, the elf's enchantment made large battle axe's glow blue; "Get him Taurus!" Lucy yells out.

"Yoo~u got it!"

The large bull man charges and the Sentinel raises its own axe to strike him down. The great weapon is brought swiftly upon the Celestial spirit, but is evenly met by the power of Taurus's enhanced axe. At the same moment, Naruto smashed the full powered Rasengan he had been charging upon the things back, staggering it. The clash of both attacks produces a flash of blue light, tearing the axe off from the Sentinel's grasp.

Suddenly, two shining red eyes beam from behind the helmet, steam escapes from various places on its body, and its Lacrima core begins glowing stronger by the second, the violent sound of gears grinding becomes nearly deafening.

"Oh crap!" The elf curses. "It's gonna blow! We gotta destroy it before it's too late!"

Without hesitation, Taurus turns to give a winking smirk and thumbs up. "Got it honey! Just watch these muscles show you what they can do!" Jumping up onto the giant metallic machine turned bomb, the axe swiftly cut into the chest place. Using his raw power, Taurus roars with a mooing grunt of strength, pulling his blade to the side.

Seeing this, the Sentinel moves it's working arm up to try and crush the bull, only for Naruto, using Sage jutsu, slamming a downward kick into it, forcing the arm to fly down and swing back, the chest free of obstruction. This was the best time for Claire to fire, as Taurus finally pulls his axe out, along with a chunk of the front plate, the core glaring red and without anything in the way, gears flying around and crunching up in stress.

Seeing her chance, and having built up the energy with her arrow since after she enchanted the spirits axe, she fired the largest bolt of energy directly into the core, shattering the crystal with blinding power escaping like an open gas tank "GET BACK EVERYONE!"

The Sentinel twitches erratically, the metal groaning as it did so, a small explosion tore apart a section of its torso, shrapnel and pieces of stone flew everywhere. The others hid behind the walls at the entrance, from where the seal suddenly deactivated, to avoid getting caught in their path. Another blast caused its arm to fall off, its knees no longer worked properly as the power no longer flowed through its body, the metal began collapsing under its own weight, twisting and breaking.

It finally plummeted to the ground face first, where it remained a few seconds before finally an explosion erupted from its back, tearing whatever remained of its body to pieces. Wisps of energy rose from its destroyed form, gathering like smoke and solidifying into a single object. The gem had been rebuilt.

The three combatants slumped on the ground, exhaustion hitting them just Naruto's Senjutsu wore off. He was glad he had enough left over to use against that damn thing. The blond Uzumaki looks to a tired Taurus; "I owe you big guy. And Uzumaki's always repay their debts."

The visibly exhausted bull man just gave the thumbs up; "Was all about protecting Miss Lucy's smoking hot body. All the thanks I need." He gives a two finger salute before fading back to the celestial world.

Before the blond could look to Claire he is soon tackled into a hug by Mirajane. "I'm glad you're okay" She breathes in relief.

Naruto at first doesn't know how to react, his own arms apart unsure of what to do, but he finally decides for placing his arms around her.

Claire and Lucy stare at them. "Um" The elf whispers at the blonde. "Are they...?"

Lucy only shrugs. "I-I honestly don't know..."

Seeing Mira was not about to let go, Naruto looks over to Claire and Lucy; "We'll take a break."

Groaning as she gets to her feet, their elven friend goes to inspect the room as Lucy looks at the fallen automaton; "What about the gem?"

"If you can defeat the sentinel you earned the right to a few things," Claire speaks up as she looks around. Walking to where that damn statue of death once stood, she smirks as she found what was looking for. "Naruto!"

Hearing footsteps, Claire sees her three human friends coming over. She lifts a triangular white gem for him to see. "Mission complete. Time to celebrate" She suddenly pulls a mug of beer seemingly out of nowhere and proceeds to drink it thirstily.

"You and Cana might have a problem..." Lucy muses dryly.

"It's only a problem when I ran out"

XxX ~ 10 minutes later ~ XxX

After taking a small break, the group head through the long corridor; "So how much can that gem bring in, in jewels?" Naruto asks absently.

"At right buyer?" Claire says. "Tens of thousands alone"

Lucy's eyes suddenly turn into the jewel symbol, and the sound of a cashing machine suddenly opening could nearly be heard.

"But we have to give it back to the old man in town"

The Celestial's mage shoulders slump.

"How much was the money for the job anyway?" Mirajane asks.

Naruto hums in thought as he pulls the paper from his clothes. "About... 2000 jewels..."

That really wasn't much...

"...We should really have paid more attention to the add before taking the job"

"The job request said ancient treasures up for the taking" The jinchuuriki grumbles. "But nope, the only treasure we have is the one we have to give to our employer"

Claire snorts; "Old coot knew how say the right words. Sly for a guy who dresses up as a teddy bear."

Lucy stares at the gem. "Well, he did say the gem had the power to keep monsters at bay. And from what we heard, his village really needs it"

Nobody really said a word as they slump, a lot of work for spare change. Least it was for a good deed. Having good karma never hurts, right? Nearing the market square, the blond Uzumaki's eyes narrow as his danger senses kick in.

"Not so fast children!" A boisterous voice exclaimed from the ruined market.

They tensed up and readied for a fight as they saw... honestly, they had no idea what they were seeing. It was a group of men, all had enormous afros, and all were wearing something Ichiya from Blue Pegasus would wear. In short, they looked ready to hit up a disco instead raiding a centuries old ruin.

Claire gave them a long, long look. "And... you guys are?"

The leader, they supposed, smirked, reflecting the light (from somewhere in the old dark ruin) on a tooth. "Why silly girl, we are the famous Dy-no-mite Brothers!" They all struck a dancing move pose.

The Fairies could only gawk at them.

**"...I have never seen something so bizarre in my life"** The fox decided to comment. **"Well, there were those weird green things in spandex back in Konoha"**

_'For once I agree with you furball,_' Naruto mentally mutters.

Striking another a weird pose, the leader point's finger at the dumbstruck fairies; "Not that you got rid not so groovy giant, we will gladly take the treasure... And those smoking babes."

"Buddy" Claire says dryly. "Not only you are not my type, I am one hundred percent certain you yourself are confused to what your own type is"

One of the brothers shook his head; "Honey, we know brick houses when we see them sister. And you three light a fire under us like no other."

Sticking her tongue out in disgust, Claire only shivers at their antics. "Yeah, I'd rather heat a girl's brick house, thank you very much. Definitely need to find out what kind of bricks you want to heat up there fella."

The leader made another pose. "Come on, everyone, get these fools! Take that treasure and capture the girls!" With a resounding cheer, the thugs jump into the fray upon command and seek their prize.

Grabbing her whip, Lucy snapped it against one, only for him to duck under it and get up close, managing to grab a hold of her shoulder. "Hah, i knew one of you would be kinky! Here, let me tie you up with that-UGH!" Only for her to snap kick him in the groin, making him hit the ground.

Shaking, Lucy rubbed wherever she touched like a disease off her. "Ick, just gross you perverted freaks! Why does there have to be so many of you!"

The leader went straight for Naruto who only looks at the man dryly, the man laughs loudly; "I got you sucka!"

Grabbing the man's large tuff of hair, Naruto spun the man backwards, torpedo style into the wall. His afro, however, was more than enough cushion him as the leader bounced off and turned, jumping up and going for a wild kick at the blonde. "Hah! Take this." Grabbing the leg, Naruto forced the leader to slam into the ground before twisting him and using him as a bat to smack two of his henchmen away, both flying over some of the crumbled buildings.

Looking at his handiwork, Naruto hummed. "Ah, I prefer a nine iron." With that, he swung again and tossed the leader to Claire, who grabbed him by the arm and twirls him around in lace she found on some of them, tying him up before making him spin and landing with the rest of their team. "Nice."

Shaking off the dizziness as he stands, the leader blinks in confusion seeing two, or was it three Narutos. "Okay... We do this the hard way..."

He adjusted his collar snapped his fingers, his men forming a line at his side. "Let's give them a taste of our rhyme boys" They spun on their feet on an elaborate dance move, finishing on a pose with sparkles flowing all around them. "Hope you like our Sparkle Magic!"

Claire could only stare. "...That's just sad"

Suddenly, they thrusted their palms forward, shooting blasts of shimmering light which whistled like fireworks. Naruto and the elf jumped out of the way as the blasts exploded on collision.

"AH HAH..! You cats can't handle our power," the leader exclaims snapping his fingers. They fire off another blast which Naruto picks up under each arm Mira and Lucy before it hits.

Mirajane seem to pay no mind to the events happening around her, opting to keep a dry look on her face even as Naruto carries both her and Lucy out of reach of their attacks. "This has to be the lamest battle I've seen..."

Letting go of the ladies, Naruto turns back with a dry look before going through some hand seals; "least they believe in a team effort if nothing else." he finishes the seal on the snake before extending his hand at the weirdos.

_**Futon: Daitoppa!**_

A might gust of wind escapes his lips, hitting at the thugs with the full strength of a vortex, they shouted as they were blown away into a wall, piling on top of the other as they fell.

Claire rolled her neck and scowled in annoyance. "Ok and I so done for today... So how about if we put an end for today?" She formed a starlight bow in her hands once more, readying a shot which shimmered like lightning; a magic circle appeared before her. "**Star-Chaser**..!" Shooting the projectile through the circle, this one multiplied and they flew in different direction, before guiding themselves at a single objective, the pile of goons which were beginning to recover and saw the homing bolts of light with terror.

XxX ~ Peace Village ~ XxX

Standing at the open gate, Naruto points lazily to his side; "You know these asshats?"

A wide-belly man scowls at the pile of beaten men with now frizzled afros and nods. "These bastards have been trying to steal from us for a long time. Thank you for bringing them in"

Mira gives a warm smile; "We have the gem for Old Man Ben." A woman nods as she goes to fetch the elderly man.

"You guys actually fought that sentinel thing and beat it? Man, after what happened with old man Ben and his buddy we gave that place a wide berth." A villager rubs the back of his head.

"You got it?" They see the old man... still in his bear suit, smiling widely and walking towards them with a hop in his step. "Ahahaha..! I knew you'd do it!" He takes his friend's skull from the group. "And you said they wouldn't survive past the entrance, well mister pessimist you were wrong once more!"

Lucy stares at him disturbed once more. "...Is he talking to the skull?"

A villager dryly leans in beside Naruto and Mira; "He's been talking to that skull for a long~ time." he whispers quietly.

Claire lifts up the blue triangle jewel in her hand; "You'll need this." She hands it over to Ben who fishes out a medium size bag.

"I know the job said 2000 jewels. But defeating the sentinel, getting the gems, and taking care of the Dy-no-mite brothers, you earned this." old man Ben hands the bag to Mirajane who opens it.

The others lean in and gawk seeing nothing but dwarven gold coins. At least three hundred pieces; "I really don't need that. All I ever cared about was protecting my village."

Claire smirks widely as she secures the bag. "We humbly accept"

The Fairies bide their goodbyes to the villagers who waved them farewell much more warmly than when they first arrived. Old Man Ben looked at the gems in his hand. "Now to see if this thing works or if I heard the story wrong and it actually attracts more monsters..."

XxX ~ Magnolia ~ XxX

"So three hundred dwarven gold is roughly…" Naruto rubs his chin. The four just arriving back in the outskirts of town.

"Around fifty thousand jewels" Claire explains with a smirk. "We split it in four and we have twelve thousand five hundred for each"

The blond sage lets out a low whistle; "Now that is a good haul for a job." Mira nods in agreement as Claire beams.

Holding Plue in her arms, Lucy smiles; "Getting to see those ruins was amazing."

"Yeah" The elf nods. "There are many awesome places to see around the world if you know where to look, I should take you to see old elven ruins one day, or those left behind by the ancestors of the Fiore people"

"You have a sense for adventures don't you?" Mirajane says with a smile.

"I'd say so. Most of my people are comfortable remaining in one place for their long lives" She sighs. "My people have grown really reclusive the last centuries"

"Is it bad?" Lucy asks.

"Put it to you this way" Claire says in a dry tone. "There used to be many elven kingdoms in Ishgar, but now in Fiore alone there is three, one single large city for each, that's very few compared to the old days. And we barely speak to one another. The same goes for the dwarves, and many of the other races"

By her tone, they could tell their elven friend was not too keen on seclusion like the rest of her people. As Mira was about to ask something they overhear someone running by; "Erza and Natsu are going at it again!"

Naruto groans as he suddenly remembers. "Right... I promised him we would fight with Erza"

"Guess he got impatient" The elder Strauss points out.

The buxom celestial mage looks dryly at the two "Are you surprised?"

Racing through town, the four sees a large crowd in front of the guild. Naruto sighs as he slumps seeing Natsu going full force against Erza, who wears her fire empress armor. She side steps a flaming fist, her eyes remain calm and focused.

"In that armor it cuts flame attacks down by 50%," Mira speaks up gaining people's attention.

Gray walks over to them; "Where the hell you guys been?"

"We took a job" Lucy explains.

Natsu stops in his attack, looking at them incredulously. "And you didn't take me?!" He points an angry finger at the male blonde. "Did you forget about our fight?!"

Naruto shakes his head. "No, no, no, no, no... Ok yes"

The elder Strauss sibling gives a dry look to a now gawking dragon slayer; "Natsu you were out somewhere fishing with Happy."

"Never lose focus Natsu!" Turning back around with small 'huh', Natsu narrowly avoids a downward slash from the scarlet haired knight's sword.

"Alright, guess I'll join" the blond Uzumaki sighs before him suddenly noticing Claire wasn't at his side anymore. "Huh?"

The elf suddenly found herself at Erza's side, having snaked an arm over her shoulder and staring at her with the most lewd of gazes. "Why hello Erza" The Scarlet shivered at her tone. "Didn't you know had nice revealing armor like that" Her eyes fall to her generously exposed cleavage.

The knightess immediately draws some distance between them. "A-Away from me you lewd fiend"

Claire bites the tip a nail as she continues to stare in appreciation at the Titania. "Hmm, I wonder what other types of armor you have"

The Card mage of Fairy Tail, taking a swing of a bottle while observing the whole thing, calls; "She has a Seduction Armor"

"CANA!"

Lucy blushes as her imagination ran on 'seduction armor', "Why would Erza have something like seduction armor?"

"Ohhhh I knew you had a dark side Erza" The elf chuckles mischievously. "I have some seduction attire myself, want to see it? It involves me taking off everything but my underwear"

Several males in the crowd hold their noses, while those less fortunate are sent flying with a geyser of crimson shooting from their nostrils. Mira lifts a brow seeing Naruto holding his nose while Lucy just glares at him dryly.

"Hot is hot damn it," he weakly mutters looking at both ladies.

Cana shrugs while taking another swing. "Saw more than her underwear last night..."

The area froze as blushes nearly went atomic while Natsu just tilts his head; "Why were you looking at her underwear?"

Naruto, along with everyone else, can only gawk. "...I'm not explaining that to him" He said with finality

"That's quite enough!" A voice makes everyone stop as they turn.

They all blink seeing frog man in full robes with several rune knights behind him. Narrowing his eyes from his spot, Makarov speaks up; "Can we help the council with something?"

The humanoid amphibian clears his throat "We are under orders to arrest Erza Scarlet and Naruto Uzumaki for destruction of Council property at Clover"

Gray stares at them in shock. "You're kidding me... We destroyed Lullaby and the council wants to PUNISH them for it?!"

Though outwardly not showing it, Naruto mentally sneers. Erza narrows her eyes shifting back into her Heart's Cruz armor. Inside his container the old fox only snorts; **"Cowards can't admit their own shortcomings, so use scapegoats for their own incompetence. And you wonder why I hate humans?"**

Natsu smacks his flaming fists together. "If you think for a moment we're just gonna let you-"

"It's okay Natsu" Erza cuts in, shocking everyone. "We'll go"

A few were about to protest till Naruto lifts up his hand, he said nothing as he shakes his head to his friends. Nodding to Erza he starts to walk till a pair of demure hands gently grabs his wrist. Upon the blond looking to his side, he sees Mira with her bangs shadowing her eyes.

"Hey" Naruto puts on a smile. "Don't make that face" He was certain Mirajane knew what it was truly about, but she still played her part well.

"...You said we'd eat somewhere tonight" She mutters.

He blinks. "Eh?" The hold on his wrist tightens, beginning to hurt.

She looks at him with an angry frown and a puffed cheek. It was as frightening as it was adorable. "Are you telling me you're going back on your word?"

Oh crap.

Quite a few guild members sweatdrop as a man beside the master with brown hair, in bowl style cut, wearing a simple shirt and pants shakes his head; "You know if they ever notice how they act like a couple they might actually 'BE' a real couple right now," the young man mutters dryly.

Makarov only snorts while Cana shrugs; "That might take a while Max... Like eternity by the way it's looking."

Another guild member with a prominent nose and hair done in an undercut like fashion looked to his guild mates. "I don't even need to read their minds to tell what they think of each other"

Makarov mutters. "Well Warren, I'm afraid those two are so dense that even if they could read each other's mind they'd still have no idea..."

XxX ~ Naruto and Erza ~ XxX

"Does Mira-Chan seriously not know how strong she is," Erza dryly looks at her blond carriage companion as he massages his wrist.

After half the guild had to dog pile Natsu from beating the living crap out of the rune knights, both the knight and the sage of Fairy Tail were taken away.

The Scarlet beauty, glad to be safe from the elf's clutches, was feeling rather positive. "She won't remain mad for long" She said. "You know we'll be back shortly"

Naruto grunts; "Oh yes, us playing patsy with the ancient fossils who can't find their old wrinkle asses even if they had a map and flashlight."

"I don't like the council any more than you do" Erza informs him. "But despite some of their actions, they do ensure stability and provide for peace to be maintained. Things were much worse before their laws were enforced"

"Trust me I know, necessary evil and all that. I just hate the politics," Naruto mutters dryly. He still wonders most days why he even wants to be Hokage... Oh yeah, the awesome hat.

Sighing, the redhead leans back; "So where were you, Mira, Claire, and Lucy this morning?"

XxX ~ Fairy Tail ~ XxX

The resident Ice Mage paced angrily before the bar before glowering at the master. "What the hell gramps? How could you just let them take Naruto and Erza?" He asked angrily.

Makarov shrugged nonchalantly. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Sitting at a table, Levy rubs her arms with her eyes downcast; "This just does not feel right. You stopped guys a dark guild and a demon, and Naruto and Erza get arrested for it." The petite beauty sighs. "It's just wrong."

"DAMN RIGHT IT'S WRONG!" A squeaky voice roars. Cleaning a glass at the bar, Mira looks to a tiny lizard stuck under a glass. "LET ME OUT JIJI!"

"Natsu you're not going to the Fiore council branch and set it of fire," Makarov mutter dryly.

"...Not even a tiny bit?"

"NO!"

Claire looks around in confusion. "Hey has anyone seen Lucy?" She could have sworn she was right here a second ago.

Levy looks around, "Where could she be...?" She muses.

Natsu freezes as the old guild master soon eyes him; "Where indeed eh, 'Natsu'?!" He blasts the glass with magic.

The glass explodes surprising everyone. In a puff of smoke, Macao, not Natsu hits the floor smiling nervously; "Well, crap..."

A large man with a tribal look sighs. "Why did you help him Macao?"

The purple haired man rubs his head sheepishly. "I owed him one Nab"

"Well, now he's going to burn down the Council and get the guild to be disbanded" Cana pointed out with a deadpanning voice. "But at least your personal debt is paid."

"...Well, shit. I did not think this through"

XxX ~ Naruto and Erza ~ XxX

After Naruto filled in Erza the events of his morning, the carriage had stopped as they were asked to exit. The blond Uzumaki had to whistle at the massive size of the Fiore council building. A strange structure with another building floating above it, but then again this world even weirder than home.

Going through a long hall, the frog man explains the do's and don'ts when facing the council. Honestly, Naruto wanted to yawn at it all, but his scarlet haired friend would have hit him if he did.

"Been a while Erza," the knight of Fairy Tail freezing up upon hearing 'his' voice.

The young woman stares with wide eyes down the hallway, a young man with blue hair and an intricate marking over his right eye. He was wearing elegant yet simple white robes with a standing collar. Despite his easygoing smile, Naruto couldn't help but feel unnerved by his presence.

Erza only narrowed his eyes at him. "Siegrain..."

He extends his arms as he walks towards them. "My I can't remember the last time we talked" He said amicably before turning to the blonde. "And you must be Naruto Uzumaki, I heard so much about you. Truly it's a pleasure to meet you, heh, just wish the circumstances could be better" The jinchuuriki cordially nodded but kept himself from saying anything, Erza didn't seem overly fond of this guy, and he trusted her judgement in these matters. "I promise I'll stand up for you both before the Council"

That had the blonde blinking in surprise. "You're a councilman?" But he couldn't be older than they were...

A soft giggle caught their ears; "Let me guess, you thought everyone in the council were a bunch of old fossils." A sultry voice makes Naruto lean to right looking past Siegrain. A light blush dusts his cheeks at the sight.

Wearing an elegant one sleeved white kimono, that stops above her knees, a beautiful raven haired woman. Roughly about Lucy's height and Mira's figure now stands beside her fellow councilman. "Not all of us I am afraid, Councilwoman Ultear Milkovich, a pleasure in meeting you... Both"

_'Can ANYONE get this job?_' Naruto thinks dryly. Seriously, one person about his age on the Council he could buy, but two? Oh well, he knew better than to judge someone because of age. "Nice to meet you" He finally says, Erza greets her with a nod.

Ultear joins her hands and smiles pleasantly. "We owe you Fairy Tail a lot for destroying Lullaby. Our agents capable of dealing with that demon were far away unfortunately" She turns to the blue haired young man. "Which reminds me, Michael reported in, the demon in the Beor Mountains has been slayed"

"Hmph" Siegrain comments. "It took him some time to track that one down" He rubs his chin in a thoughtful fashion. "With all that happened with Lullaby we could have used his help"

"You know since Titus was transferred to serve under the Fiore crown Selene's and Michael's jobs have been piling up" She replies with a wave of her hand before smiling sultrily at Naruto. "But fortunately can count on the support of such strong Guilds like Fairy Tail right?"

The blond sennin chuckles rubbing the back of his head; "I hardly did much, it was a team effort to take that walking toothpick down. Just glad no one got really too hurt." Naruto soon blinks; "You guys find Erigor yet?"

Siegrain sighs; "Sadly not yet. However our trackers have reported they have finally got onto his trail. It's only a matter of time."

A sigh of relief escapes Naruto's lips, however before he speaks he notices Ultear at his side, wrapping her arm around his; "Why don't you let me escort you?" The blond really had no say as he is dragged off by the young councilwoman.

The blue haired councilman chuckles; "She actually came all the way to the Fiore branch just to see Uzumaki. She's quite fascinated about him. Will admit I am a touch curious as well…"

The Scarlet says nothing, opting to keep a narrowed gaze at the young man. "Now, now" He says in a placating tone. "There's no need to worry. We can just proceed with this whole charade and then you two can go back to your Guild before you know it"

Erza knew not to judge someone on appearances, but even she could not help but feel unnerved by the face that reminded her so much of another. Yet it wasn't looks alone what put her on edge, it was his voice, the way he smiled, the subtle gleam in his eyes. Siegrain wasn't a person to be trusted, of that she was sure.

"Oh, and another things" She freezes when he tenderly holds her chin, bringing her lips close to him. "It would be beneficial for both of us if you do not mention 'that' to the Council"

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

Walking through a corridor, he could not stop blushing having Ultear still having her arms wrapped around his. "Is it alright for you to be... so close to me?" He said delicately.

"Oh I'm just escorting you personally" She replied with mirth. "There's nothing wrong in that"

It wasn't that he was complaining. No sir, Jiraiya would jump out of his grave and whip his ass six ways to Sunday if he did. More to the point, the blond was just not completely used to physical contact to the opposite sex.

Ultear gave him a sultry look. "Also, I'm hoping we can get to know each other better after this whole mess is done with"

"Uh... Sure," Naruto gives a cheerful grin. He was all for making new friends. "So what do you do for fun, or have time for that while working here?"

The young councilwoman shrugs; "More business than pleasure sadly, it gets very boring since we do meetings most days." As soon as they were about to reach the doors to the trial chamber, she stopped. "But I always manage to do something fun" She winked at him before vanishing like a ghost, leaving him startled.

"She was an astral projection" Erza's voice says as she approaches him. "So was Siegrain, the Council awaiting for us are projections as well"

"Huh" He mutters. "Could have sworn I could feel her?"

"Some people are just that good with them"

Rubbing the back of his head, the blond sighs before opening the door; "Ladies first." Erza only give a brief smile before turning stony as they enter the courtroom.

The room is massive in size; both see a dozen empty pews on either side. At the end of the room stood a large masterfully carved stand with a dozen people seated on it, among them Naruto could see Siegrain and Ultear. At the top of the stand stood a singled figure, a large bellied man with a long beard and big hat with a staff in hand, who the jinchuuriki suspected was the chairman of the Magic Council he had heard about; Crawford Seam.

One of the amphibian assistant introduced them. "Defendants Erza Scarlet and Naruto Uzumaki… Please take the witness to the stand" They were escorted by a pair of guards to wooden railing before the stand.

With both standing tall, Crawford got this started; "Erza scarlet, Naruto Uzumaki. You were brought here today for the destruction of the annual Meeting Hall in Clover, and the damage down to the town's train station. Do you recognize this accusation?"

"We were fighting a dark guild and a giant demon" Naruto drawled. "At least no one got hurt"

"Regardless" The Chairman continued. "Witnesses report a redheaded woman in armor and blonde man in a coat, we-"

Suddenly, the door explodes in a blaze of fire, startling everyone. An exuberant voice shouts. "It was us! We are the woman in armor and the blonde man!"

A meek voice says with desperation. "H-How did you manage to drag me into this?"

Naruto doesn't look back, he refuses to, and for the sake of his sanity he won't. He merely glances at Erza at his side and says. "Tell me he didn't..."

All he sees is utter disbelief in the redhead's almond eyes as the scene before her is Natsu, wearing pieces of metal and the worst red wig she seen on his head. However she gawks at the sight beside Natsu.

It was Lucy. It used to be Lucy rather, her hair was a mess of uneven spikes, and there was a dirty rag around her shoulders trying to pass for a cloak. She looked so miserable and embarrassed Erza couldn't help but pity her. She tried to wrap around her mind Natsu's logic of him being the one dressed as her and have Lucy try to pass for Naruto, but honestly, it just wasn't worth the headache.

Naruto felt his entire body froze in place. He literally could not move as the images of Lucy and Natsu's state of dress as they are burned into his retinas. Erza absently sees a terrified Happy partially hiding at the doorway, deeply ashamed.

"What is this madness?" Org yells out while the other council members only gawk at the scene. Ultear covers her mouth, trying not to giggle at the sheer stupidity of it. Siegrain only chuckles.

"We're the ones you want!" Natsu proudly shouts.

"I know how it looks like" Lucy quickly interjects. "But this wasn't my idea; in fact, I was dragged against my will. Whatever he does, whatever he says, I DO NOT support him"

The chairman merely smacks his face in exasperation. "Oh for the love of... Just put them all in jail"

XxX ~ nightfall ~ XxX

Sitting quietly in one the many cells of the Fiore chapter, Lucy only feels like shrinking into a ball as Naruto and Erza simply glare at them. Neither saying a single word since being dragged into the holding cell. Natsu only glares back defiance while Happy wisely hides behind the buxom blond.

Naruto let's out an explosive breath. "You know... you two are morons"

"Hey!" Natsu cries out in indignation.

"I mean, I should be surprised of you Natsu. But I thought you knock some sense into that thick skull of his Lucy"

"I TRIED" She seethed. "But it's like talking to a wall. No wait its worst. A wall wouldn't do any of the stuff he did!"

The blond sennin only dryly squints as Erza huffs; "This was a mock trial Natsu. All we were originally going to get was a slap on the wrist..." The redhead lets those words sink in, as Natsu eyes widen as he soon pales.

Happy leans out from behind Lucy; "sorry guys, we just wanted to help..."

"Meh" The male blonde shrugged. "It's okay. We'll only be here for the night anyway"

Lucy, being the most logical person in the room, pointed out the obvious in a depressed muffle. "Unless they plan on charging us for the damages to the building..."

Three heads, one blonde, one red, and one pink thought about it for a moment before slumping with a dark aura of depression hanging over them.

"Still..." A warm smile crosses Erza's lips. "It's nice you came for us..."

Naruto only smirks, while Natsu gives a large toothy smile. Lucy only grins while Happy flies around. The white fox looks to them through the window cell; a vulpine smirk slowly forms on its face.

XxX ~ Ultear ~ XxX

The Time Mage stretched her limbs as she entered her room, glad to have all of today's nonsense be done with. Those Fairies were a bunch of buffoons but at least they provided for a good laugh. She hummed to herself as she stepped into the bedroom and changed into her nightgown.

The sound of stone rasping against metal immediately sent her on alert. She turned around, magic gathering at both hands ready to strike, but stop after seeing the source of the sound. She rolled her eyes and lowered her hands, dismissing the energy gathering in them. "You still know how to sneak into places, I'll give you that"

Sitting by the open window was a tall man with long untamed gray hair. He was dressed in a black long coat with a grey shirt underneath and brown pants, on his feet were long leather boots with various straps at the side. His brown eyes focused on his task of sharpening the katana in his hand with a whetstone.

He has the blade a twirl, hearing the edge cut through the air. He didn't even look at her as he spoke. "You got too close to that man" His voice is strong, calm yet filled with displeasure.

She rests her hands on her hips. "Please, he's not even that handsome. I was only having fun with our prey, gives the whole game more spice" She smirks teasingly at him. "Are you perhaps jealous by any chance Weiss?"

The man now known as Weiss says nothing which only makes Ultear roll her eyes scoffing; "You are such an unbelievable man I swear."

Sheathing his katana and setting on the table, Weiss looks directly to the young councilwoman; "You think this new pet of yours will provide anything?"

"Remember Master Hades is a bit curious about him" The time mage points out. "He doesn't have magic, yet has energy that is more biologically tied to his body. It's an oddity, something we need to uncover. Let's also not overlook he is powerful enough to destroy a demon of Zeref, even if it was one the weakest."

The man's face remains blank; "So that's your only reason for clinging to his arm?"

Walking over, Ultear stands directly in front of Weiss as she leans forward placing her hands on the chair rests. Their faces inches away from one another; "Well if wanted to have fun with him I would have needed some privacy."

She only gasps as she finds herself on her bed. Weiss on top of her, holding her wrists. His face blank, emotionless, but the time mage being the only person, next to her daughter, who could actually read his face, and she saw rage in his cold, stony eyes. "You belong to me," he voice calm and slow.

"So possessive..." She whispers huskily. "Not really a trait women find attractive in a man"

He inches his face closer to hers. "Trait or not, it is a fact" She can feel his hot breath on her neck, making her shudder. "You are mine; you yourself said so, many, many times..." A soft kiss upon the bare skin on the crook of her makes her entire body go warm, he softly follows by tracing a path of more kisses from the base to her neck to her ear. "Don't you remember? Those times on a bed like this. 'Don't stop' you say... 'Make me yours' those are your words" He captures a sensitive lobe between his lips and Ultear can't suppresses a happy purr.

He eventually let's go of her wrists, his hands slowly, torturing slow, seek entrance into her nightgown, tracing her bare skin. A hand reaches down her leg, softly caressing her thigh, sending a shiver through her spine. "Say it" He commands huskily.

"You..." She moans as his lips arrive on her collarbone. "You won't win so easy..."

"Say it" He repeats. A hand comes dangerously close to her bosom, making her gasp.

Well... no use in fighting a losing battle.

"Take me..." She breathes out with desperation. "Make me yours" She does not request, Ultear doesn't make requests, and she demands him to pleasure her. If she was his, then he was hers as well.

Weiss brings his lips upon hers, softly at first, tender, but soon after their tempo increases, and their tongues explore each other's mouth. Ultear grasps his coat, eagerly trying to pry it off him. It's not fair how much clothing he has compared to her-

Suddenly Weiss pulls his lips from her, staring at her for a moment with those browns eyes before softly nodding to himself. "I have to go"

And with that, he steps off from the bed, leaving Ultear stunned and confused. "W-Wait, what?"

He stretches his clothes and picks up his sword. "Hades has a mission for me, I need to go now"

Her mouth opens and clothes a few times, her eyes are wide and the heat still hasn't left her cheeks, or any other part of her body. "WHAT?!" She finally shouts. "B-But you just-"

"I was only having fun with the prey" He uses her own words against her; a small, very subtle smile graces the corner of his lips. "Gives the whole game more spice" He waved her goodbye before jumping out the window, disappearing into the night.

Ultear just stood on the bed, gawking at the window from where Weiss just left, feeling tricked, incredibly angry, but more than anything still so very aroused.

"Y-Y-YOU FUCKING TEAAAAASE!" Her screams echoed throughout the night sky.

The silver haired swordsman chuckled. Ahhh, music to his ears.


	7. An Island of confusion

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23

Co-Author and Action scenes: Godospartan the kitsune

Chapter 7: An island of confusion

XxX ~ last time ~ XxX

_The Time Mage stretched her limbs as she entered her room, glad to have all of today's nonsense be done with. Those Fairies were a bunch of buffoons but at least they provided for a good laugh. She hummed to herself as she stepped into the bedroom and changed into her nightgown._

_The sound of stone rasping against metal immediately sent her on alert. She turned around, magic gathering at both hands ready to strike, but stop after seeing the source of the sound. She rolled her eyes and lowered her hands, dismissing the energy gathering in them. "You still know how to sneak into places, I'll give you that"_

_Sitting by the open window was a tall man with long untamed gray hair. He was dressed in a black long coat with a grey shirt underneath and brown pants, on his feet were long leather boots with various straps at the side. His brown eyes focused on his task of sharpening the katana in his hand with a whetstone._

_He has the blade a twirl, hearing the edge cut through the air. He didn't even look at her as he spoke. "You got too close to that man" His voice is strong, calm yet filled with displeasure._

_She rests her hands on her hips. "Please, he's not even that handsome. I was only having fun with our prey, gives the whole game more spice" She smirks teasingly at him. "Are you perhaps jealous by any chance Weiss?"_

_The man now known as Weiss says nothing which only makes Ultear roll her eyes scoffing; "You are such an unbelievable man I swear."_

_Sheathing his katana and setting on the table, Weiss looks directly to the young councilwoman; "You think this new pet of yours will provide anything?"_

_"Remember Master Hades is a bit curious about him" The time mage points out. "He doesn't have magic, yet has energy that is more biologically tied to his body. It's an oddity, something we need to uncover. Let's also not overlook he is powerful enough to destroy a demon of Zeref, even if it was one the weakest."_

_The man's face remains blank; "So that's your only reason for clinging to his arm?"_

_Walking over, Ultear stands directly in front of Weiss as she leans forward placing her hands on the chair rests. Their faces inches away from one another; "Well if wanted to have fun with him I would have needed some privacy."_

_She only gasps as she finds herself on her bed. Weiss on top of her, holding her wrists. His face blank, emotionless, but the time mage being the only person, next to her daughter, who could actually read his face, and she saw rage in his cold, stony eyes. "You belong to me," he voice calm and slow._

_"So possessive..." She whispers huskily. "Not really trait women find attractive in a man"_

_He inches his face closer to hers. "Trait or not, it is a fact" She can feel his hot breath on her neck, making her shudder. "You are mine; you yourself said so, many, many times..." A soft kiss upon the bare skin on the crook of her makes her entire body go warm, he softly follows by tracing a path of more kisses from the base to her neck to her ear. "Don't you remember? Those times on a bed like this. 'Don't stop' you say... 'Make me yours' those are your words" He captures a sensitive lobe between his lips and Ultear can't suppresses a happy purr._

_He eventually let's go of her wrists, his hands slowly, torturing slow, seek entrance into her nightgown, tracing her bare skin. A hand reaches down her leg, softly caressing her thigh, sending a shiver through her spine. "Say it" He commands huskily._

_"You..." She moans as his lips arrive on her collarbone. "You won't win so easy..."_

_"Say it" He repeats. A hand comes dangerously close to her bosom, making her gasp._

_Well... no use in fighting a losing battle._

_"Take me..." She breathes out with desperation. "Make me yours" She does not request, Ultear doesn't make requests, and she demands him to pleasure her. If she was his, then he was hers as well._

_Weiss brings his lips upon hers, softly at first, tender, but soon after their tempo increases, and their tongues explore each other's mouth. Ultear grasps his coat, eagerly trying to pry it off him. It's not fair how much clothing he has compared to her-_

_Suddenly Weiss pulls his lips from her, staring at her for a moment with those browns eyes before softly nodding to himself. "I have to go"_

_And with that, he steps off from the bed, leaving Ultear stunned and confused. "W-Wait, what?"_

_He stretches his clothes and picks up his sword. "Hades has a mission for me, I need to go now"_

_Her mouth opens and clothes a few times, her eyes are wide and the heat still hasn't left her cheeks, or any other part of her body. "WHAT?!" She finally shouts. "B-But you just-"_

_"I was only having fun with the prey" He uses her own words against her; a small, very subtle smile graces the corner of his lips. "Gives the whole game more spice" He waved her goodbye before jumping out the window, disappearing into the night._

_Ultear just stood on the bed, gawking at the window from where Weiss just left, feeling tricked, incredibly angry, but more than anything still so very aroused._

_"Y-Y-YOU FUCKING TEAAAAASE!" Her screams echoed throughout the night sky._

_The silver haired swordsman chuckled. Ahhh, music to his ears._

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

It was peaceful morning at Fairy Tail-

"HIYAH..!" Erza shouted as she launched a spinning kick.

Scratch that, it was never a peaceful ANYTHING at Fairy Tail.

Expertly ducking the redhead's foot, Naruto spins with a reverse heel to knock his sparring partner to the ground. The blond sage was wearing a shirt and athletic sweats and Erza a gi, they traded blow after blow in quick succession, Naruto's greater expertise in hand to hand combat allowed him to have a greater edge in the spar.

Lucy noted this as she and the others watched. "Woah, he's really giving Erza a hard time"

Gray nods absently. "Yeah, Naruto is pretty good in hand to hand. Plus, Erza always trains with those weight seals she makes him do"

Under a tree close by to Fairy Hills; Lucy, Gray, and Levy watched on. "Weight seals?" the buxom blond lifts a brow.

"Think of them like the normal training gear all wrapped into a seal. Naruto uses them all the time," Levy mentions while reading.

The ice mage sweatdrops. "Ever since Erza found out about those she's been making him place those seals on her too, only five times the weight of his"

The Celestial Mage lets her jaw drop. "F-F-Five times?!"

Levy laughs sheepishly. "Erza's a glutton for punishment..."

Dodging a straight right from Erza, the air leaves her lungs as the blond Uzumaki's hard fist slams into her stomach. The trio cringes while Naruto's face remains blank. "Forgot to mention." Gray says quietly. "Naruto can be downright brutal when it comes to sparring and training."

The Scarlet coughs, holding her abdomen. She heaves as she rests her hands on her knees.

"Wanna call it a day?" Naruto asks.

The Titania only sends him a piercing gaze. She stands straight once more and adjusts the belt of her sleeveless red gi. "More weight"

The blonde sage blinks at her. "Uh, Erza are you sure about-?"

"More. Weight"

"Alright, alright. Jeez..." He sighs before raising two fingers in a handsign.

Lucy lightly gasped while Erza gnashes her teeth; now slouching slightly forward, sweat dripping heavily from her body. The sage only whistles; "You're adjusting at a very good rate. Ero-Sennin always kept me at an even pace with these." His cerulean absently watching a bead of sweat go down Erza's neck down the between her ample breasts.

The blond shakes his head, damn that old pervert's corruption!

"HEY!" A living fireball blazed at the distance as Natsu quickly run towards them, shrouded in flames. "Why are two fighting when you told me you didn't want to fight with me?! Let's fight right-!" He was silenced by a pair of fists which extinguished his flames and sent him flying towards the tree where the others were sitting. His head buried inside the bark.

Happy lazily floated near. "Told him this was gonna happen, but he didn't listen..."

XxX ~ xx ~XxX

Sitting at a table in the guild, Naruto and Erza back in their normal wear, Lucy looks both dryly and concern seeing a slightly bandaged face Natsu eating like nothing happened. _'My life is going to be a series of crazy events like those isn't it?_' She thought before letting out a sigh. _'Oh well, I knew what I was getting into... well ok, I didn't. But I still need the money..._'

Lucy yawned, suddenly finding herself feeling very sleepy. _'Huh, thought I rested well lately..._' Her vision going blurry, she still noticed everyone in the guild was suddenly growing more tired. Slowly, each them began falling asleep. _'What is...?_' She couldn't even finish the thought as sleep claimed her.

Naruto slumped on the bar, forcing himself to remain awake but found he couldn't. **'Oi kid. What are you doing?**' The fox asked him.

'_So tired..._' He mumbled before his eyes closed.

Mira's eyes become droopy before falling forward, her head resting Naruto's shoulder. One by one, everyone falls to the ground asleep. Sitting at the bar, Makarov looks dryly at the figure walking into the guild. "Mystogan..." His voice dry as is his gaze.

A mysterious figure enters the Guild; a cloak hid most of his figure, while a face-mask with a bandanna with a metal plate hid all features of his face. On his back were five magic staves, six in total counting the one on his hand.

He steps lightly, carefully avoiding the sleeping figures of his guild mates, and approaches the jobs' board. Picking a request from the board, he turns and takes his leave without a word.

Makarov grunted. "Don't forget to wake them up"

The hooded figure gives a slight nod; "5." Mystogan steps over each guild mates. "4, 3, 2... 1..." Mystogan vanishes at the doorway.

Slowly, everyone starts shifting, groaning as they stand up. "What the hell happened..?" Naruto wondered as he rubbed his head. Mira makes a cute yawn also shaking her head while blinking.

"Mystogan passed by" Makarov explained as cleared the blockage on his pipe.

The blonde looks at him confused. "Mystogan?"

"Get this harlot off of me!"

They turned to see Erza trying to pry Claire away from her. The raven haired elf had somehow taken off the redhead's armor and was currently burying her face in her ample bosom while holding her tightly.

"Can't. Sleep" Came Claire's muffled reply.

A disgruntled groan comes from the ice mage; "Swear that guy does it on purpose."

The two blonds of the guild only look to each other; "I've heard of Mystogan, but not much," the celestial wizard speaks up.

"Just heard of his name, not much else."

"He's one of the S class mages of the Guild" Mirajane says, making both blondes look at her. "He comes in and leaves when he feels like it" She taps her chin. "I don't think anyone but the master has ever had as much as a conversation with him..."

"Gramps isn't the only one," Heads quickly turn to the second floor to the smug looking Laxus staring down at them. "Mystogan is kinda shy. Not surprised you never heard of him Naruto. Hell you never seen Gildarts yet."

The sage struggled to remain civil with the taller blonde, if only out of respect for the master. So he crossed his arms and replied. "It's strange S ranks would be away from the Guild for so long. Plus Mystogan putting us to sleep just so we wouldn't see him..."

Makarov takes a drag from his pipe. "Gildarts is our best mage, so he's always busy making money for the guild"

"Weird that we never see any of that money" Naruto points out.

The old master sweatdrops. "Yeah well... he uses most of it to pay for the damages he causes"

Lucy, by this point, is no longer surprised that a Fairy Tail mage has to do that. "Of course he does..."

"And Mystogan" The master shrugs. "Well, he'll have his reasons I imagine"

That was an excuse if Naruto ever heard on, but chose not to press. Lucy squeaks nearly jumping from the table as a fully awake Natsu stands on top of it with flames on his fists.

"LAXUS! FIGHT ME!"

Lifting a brow, the mage lightning mage looks to the rosette haired teen; "Oh Natsu, Huh wonder how I didn't notice you."

"What's with that of all sudden?!" The celestial mage question.

No one bats an eye as the dragon mage jumps towards the second floor, only to be swatted away like an annoying fly by the blonde. He crushes against a table and Laxus rolls his eyes. "Tch. Only S rank mages are allowed up here. You just stay right where you are you dumbass"

Happy looks to his semi-unconscious friend dryly; "Knew that was coming."

Shaking of the mental cobwebs, Natsu snarls up at the smug S mage who speaks up; "Erza is about the only one I'd acknowledge as strong to the rest of you weaklings." Laxus eyes Naruto; "You to Uzumaki, even if you're not a mage."

"Oh~" the blond sage showing false cheer; "How glorious the mighty Laxus holding me in such high regards," Naruto not holding his tongue or caring to now.

A savage predatory smile was Laxus response which did not sit well with either Makarov or Mirajane. "Enough! I won't have you two tearing Magnolia apart with a pissing contest," the old master orders loudly.

Both sage and mage stare at each other intensely. One could almost see the sparks forming between them. They turn their heads to the side and snort at the same time. "Tch"

Claire rests a shoulder over the bar while taking a swing of the bottle. "So what's up with those two?"

"They _really_~ don't get along" Cana replies.

"Could have fooled me" She finishes the bottle and starts another.

Lucy looks to Mirajane in confusion. "What's that about 'S ranks'?"

"After a mage performs enough job requests, and shows the skill and experience can get to be named an S rank. A guild has annual rank promotions where selected mages can earn it so you can go to the second request board where more dangerous but higher paying jobs are listed," Mira speaks casually while cleaning a glass and keeping an eye on Naruto and Laxus.

"How much 'higher paying' exactly?" Claire asked interestedly.

Mira smiles cheerfully; "Well I used to be 'S' rank so I can say it can be quite a lot."

"You were 'S' rank?" Lucy jaw nearly drops.

"A long time ago." She says, not paying attention to Naruto muttering 'two years' to the buxom blond. "The current 'S' rank members we have are Erza, Laxus, and Gildarts... Master has been trying to get Foxy into the promotions, but he always 'conveniently' vanishes." the white haired beauty dryly glares to her roommate.

"And I will keep saying why the hell does a non-mage want to be a 'S' class?" The blond sage's eye twitches. "I'm a sage and Chunin, that be enough for me dattebayo."

"No idea what those are" Lucy mutters.

"The latter's a ninja rank, the other is a... title/role thing I guess"

"Hey if you think about it Erza's not really a mage either" Mirajane points out. "All she does is pull out armor and weapons from her storage and fight with them"

The blond Uzumaki groans, slumping putting his head on bar; "Don't you start please. Jiji is bad enough riding my backside."

Mira pouts while Makarov glares with one open eye; "And I will keep riding your backside till I physically have to drag your sorry ass to the promotions brat!"

Naruto was soon right in Makarov's face, both snarling; "Try it old man, will gladly kick your ass!"

"Bring it brat!"

Mirajane puffs her cheek and places her fists on her hips, presenting an image more adorable than frightening. "No fighting on my bar!"

"Well I myself will fight alright," Natsu giving a feral grin. "Right up there to 'S' class and kick your ass Laxus."

The lightning mage snorts; "You're not even ready to face me Natsu, let alone take an 'S' class job. But if you want to get killed by all means."

The master scoffs. "You wanna be an 'S' class, than wait your damn time for the next trials"

Laxus snorts before walking back to his table, which only makes Natsu angrier, forcing Lucy to hold him back. Erza only watched with disapproval at Laxus while Naruto rubs his temples.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Lucy walked home, pondering on the new information about how Guilds managed themselves. Being an S rank mage seemed to come with a lot of responsibilities but also with plenty of rewards from taking one of those harder jobs. So she determined herself to start working even harder.

She opened the door to her apartment... and saw Natsu doing sit ups inside.

"Hey Lucy!" He greeted her while continuing his exercise.

Happy lifted an iron dumbbell, strain written all over his furry face. "Welcoooome!"

She forced herself to ignore that Natsu was shirtless and how sweat was running all over his muscular frame. The strong odor coming from him helped with that.

She stomped on his stomach, making his eyes bulge out. "You stink!"

"Damn girl" She heard another voice speak. Her jaw dropped when she saw Claire looking through her drawer. "You got some kinky underwear here" She grinned perversely.

"What are you two doing here?!"

The buxom blond blushes as the elven woman hugs her from behind; "Aw sweetie what's wrong with a little sleep over?"

"You're groping me for one," Claire's idle hands room to places where they shouldn't, making Lucy blush all the more.

"Hmm, very soft" The elf notes with interest. "I've gotta tell Cana"

"Okay!" Lucy swats her hand away. "Will you tell me what are you doing here?" She asks with irritation.

Natsu grins with that wild smirk of his once he stands up. "We made a choice"

"They really shouldn't have told us we can't do something" Claire quips. "That just makes doing it all the more fun" She high fives the dragon slayer.

The Celestial mage gives them a look. "You're not making sense"

"Here!" Happy exclaims cheerfully. And from his green backpack he pulls out a job request... a job request with a large seal that said 'S Class' on it.

"DO YOU WANT MASTER TO YELL AT US! 'S' class missions are prohibited for us normal mages," Lucy shakes Natsu by the shoulders. "I just got into Fairy Tail, I don't want to be kicked out!"

At the young lady's word Claire only snorts; "Honey I have been more dangerous situations than you can shake a stick at. Putting a letter 'S' on a paper does not mean anything to me."

"It will now because they can excommunicate us for it! Actually, what am I saying? You did this, I had nothing to do with it. I know nothing, I have no idea what's going on. Have fun" She tried to ignore the issue as she headed for bed.

"Come on Lucy!" Natsu insisted. "It'll be fun, just look at the reward!"

A long tired irritated sigh comes from the blond as she snatches the paper from Natsu. He, Happy, and Claire soon smirk seeing their friend's eyes widen.

"SEVEN MILLION JEWELS! Plus a golden celestial key! We're going to Garuda Island!"

"That's the spirit!" Claire enveloped them all with her arms. "Let's go on an adventure!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Back in their place, Naruto shivered as a creeping cold ran down his spine. He looked up from his meal to Mirajane. "You got the feeling one of our friends, or a number of them, is about to do something stupid?"

"I stopped feeling it a long time ago. Now it's just sort of expected with this guild"

The blond Uzumaki grunts; "Yeah that's true. Still, I have this urge to head slap somebody." He starts eating again; "This casserole is awesome!"

The Strauss smiles sweetly. "I'm glad you like it. You have to eat something other than ramen"

XxX ~ next morning ~ XxX

At the bar, the odd feeling was still there while Naruto sat beside Makarov. _'You ever have those days you just know it will be going straight to hell furball?'_

'**A certain wretch of an Uchiha comes to mind,**' the old fox grumbles.

"Oh no!" Came Mirajane's voice from the second floor. Everyone looked up to see what the commotion was, and saw Mirajane running down the stairs, looking distressed. "Master! One of the jobs from the second floor is gone!"

Everyone gasped in shock at the news. Makarov spit his drink all over Naruto's face, the blonde glowered as he cleaned himself.

Coughing the last drip of alcohol from his throat, the tiny mage looks to the former 'S' Mage; "Which one?!"

"It was Garuda Island gramps," Everyone looks to Laxus while he smokes a cigar. "Strange, saw this blue feline snatch the paper before running off." By his tone everyone could tell he could care less about the situation.

Storming down the steps, Mira glares at the tall blond; "You knew full well that was Happy. Why didn't you stop him?!"

Laxus lifts a brow before smirking; "Haven't seen that look in a long time" He noted, referring to Mirajane's dark glare, a reminder of why she used to be called 'The Demon' "How was I supposed to know it was that furball. Could have been some alley cat just walked in and grabbed it."

"Hey!" Everyone looks to Macao. "Claire and Lucy aren't here either!"

"Oh for the love of-" The master was close to tearing what remained of his hair. "Naruto!" He snapped at the sage. "You bring them back right here, right now!" He saw how uncaring Laxus was about the whole situation, he wouldn't lift a finger to bring them back. "You're currently the only one here who can force them to return!"

"Gramps..." The master turned to see Gray, the Ice-mage got up from his chair and frowned. "Now that's insulting" Without another word, he went for the door, his trench trailing behind him with every subtle movement. "Come on Naruto, let's go grab those morons"

The sage sighed as he followed him. _'Miss the days where I was the irresponsible knucklehead, at least I didn't have to deal with this crap...'_

He hears the fox laugh at him.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The train ride was quiet mostly while Gray looks out the window and Naruto flips one of his Tri-pronged kunai. "Where is Garuda anyway?" the sage mutters dryly.

"Not far from Port Hargeon. Simple boat ride and you're there" He shakes his head. "Natsu and Happy I get it, those two are always getting into trouble. But Lucy and Claire? His stupid is rubbing off on them."

"I think we should have realized Claire is just as much of a bad influence the moment we brought her into the guild" The blonde says dryly.

Gray sweatdrops. "Yeah... it was pretty obvious in hindsight. Hell Laki told me she woke up with Claire somehow in her room snuggled up with her and no clothes," ice mage blushed at the mental image.

Naruto buries his head on his hands and groans. "Oh what did we bring to the guild?"

"What I heard about the elves seems to be a great misconception..." The ice-mage mumbles. Pausing, Gray looks to his friend;" So~... How are things with you and Mira?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" He replied neutrally. Of course he knew what Gray was talking about, he and everyone in the guild knew it. It really wasn't any of their business but he couldn't blame them. He and Mira tried to pretend there was nothing there, that they were just friend but...

A mere friend didn't make him feel so happy whenever she smiled. That she made him feel hope with just a few words of encouragement, that he loved every little thing she did, from the cute pouts and puffs of her cheeks when she got angry, to the smile and kindness she gave everyone in the Guild.

He had felt so alone when he first arrived on this crazy world, so lost... but Mirajane had been there to make him feel at home.

That's what killed him, he had another home to go back to, a place where they needed him. To people he had made promises to... a home he had to return to eventually once he found the means to do so.

Gray rolls his eyes in exasperation. "Come on man, everyone can see it"

"Look Gray it... it's complicated. It just can't happen"

Gray only shakes his head before looking back out the window. However another voice speaks his opinion. **'It's only complicated because you feel so sure you have to return to that wretched place. Admit the truth Naruto... You hate our old world as much I do.**'

_'Shut. Up'_ He growled in thought. _'I don't hate our world. If I hated our world I wouldn't be worried for all of my friends there!' _He had to control himself as not to leak out killing intent.

A condescending chuckle comes from the ancient fox; '**Oh yes... The ones who thought you as a burden till you proved useful for their own ends. Your childish promises to that female of returning that fool Uchiha who already is lost in the darkness... And let's not forget your promise to that old pervert.**'

Clinching his fist so tightly, Naruto tries not to growl out loud. '**You fail everyone who puts their trust on you. Why, you yourself are planning on leaving this guild eventually, it is only a matter of time before you disappoint them as well**'

A hand touching his shoulder makes Naruto's instincts kick in, making Gray duck from getting stabbing between the eyes by Naruto's kunai; "HEY MAN WATCH THAT THING!"

"Oh damn. I'm so sorry Gray!" He apologizes, helping the ice mage sit straight. "I uh... was lost in my thoughts."

Grey grumbles as he yanks the kunai from the seat. "You do that a lot you know that right?"

The blond rubs the back of his head; "Just old memories." He mentally growls hearing the fox laughing at him once.

XxX ~ Port town: Hargeon ~ XxX

The elf looks around the port. "So this is where you guys met?"

"Yeap" Lucy smiles fondly. "Haven't been here in a while"

"Hasn't been that long..." Natsu mumbles.

Happy covers his mouth with his paws to stifle a giggle. "Lucy is old so to her everything happened long ago"

Claire snorts seeing Happy embedded in the ground by Lucy's fist; "Oh shut up furball!"

"All we need to do now is find a boat to take us to Garuda. Should be easy" The elven woman grins.

"We could swim there," Natsu offers his opinion.

"We are not swimming," Lucy glares over to the dragon slayer; "I am not getting this new outfit ruined."

"Awe..." Claire pouts. "And I wanted to see you all wet."

"...Gonna ignore that" The Celestial mage said before heading out to find transport.

Turns out, it was harder than they thought. No one wanted to go to Garuda, the 'Curse Island' as they called it. Lucy herself was starting to feel hesitant about the whole thing if everyone was so afraid of that place.

"Some things never change" The elf muses.

"What do you mean by that?" Lucy asks.

"Garuda was always called a cursed place, but those who say such things don't know what they're talking about. Garuda is a nice place and its people are kind"

A cloaked man sitting on his boat turns his head hearing the conversation; "You seek passage to Garuda?"

"Aye sir," Happy says while in Lucy's arms.

"Actually..." The group freezes hearing a familiar gravelly voice behind them. "They need to come back home dattebayo..."

A pair of hands settles on Natsu's and Lucy's shoulders. "Found ya" Came Gray's teasing voice.

Both Dragon Slayer and Celestial Mage jump back while the elven woman looks back sharply, the four of them look in shock to see Naruto and the Ice mage standing there, giving them a dry look.

"Going somewhere?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

"N... Na... Naru!" The buxom blond stammer under her fellow blond's gaze. "We... We... We were just."

"Getting ass deep in trouble," Gray finishes. "Seriously guys, even I'm not THIS crazy."

"Master wants you back" Naruto said, crossing his arms. "If you say you're sorry, he won't expel you"

"E-E-EXPEL!" Lucy exclaimed in shock, sweating nervously.

Claire seemed to be taking it all in stride. "Not even a week here and already they'd expel me... meh, they've kicked me out of other places WAY faster than this" She giggled as she remembered that 'incident' with Mermaid Heel.

Claire claps her hands, giving Naruto a wink; "How about we all share the jewel together? And I could show you a good time Naruto. You're cute enough for me to play with."

Naruto remained silent for a long while, until Gray slapped him in the back of the head. "Remember why we're here!"

The blonde shook his head. "Right, right!" He tries to push the pervy thoughts away, a task made for difficult by Claire's suggestive expressions, and tries to put on a stern look. "Guys this is a serious deal. You're still not ready for an S rank. Besides..." He shivers at the thought. "I don't want to think about what Erza will do to you when she finds out..."

The fact Naruto was actually afraid of what might Erza would do was shaking Lucy's resolve till Claire sighs; "Okay... The hard way."

A flash of azure light manifests on her hands, the elf was now holding a bow of light. "We're gonna go to Garuda one way or another and help them out"

Naruto runs a hand over his face. "Look, if they're having problems I want to help as well, but you should leave this to other people and stop causing troubles for the master"

**'The sheer irony that you're being the voice of reason here'** the fox mutters.

Promptly ignoring the fox, Naruto does not flinch as an azure arrow was pointed at him. "Naruto, I will not stop being who I am because some paper has an 'S' on it. I haven't in five hundred years, and damn sure won't in the next five hundred. So either help us or get out of my way."

The cloaked man with the headband and the thick mustache looks at them in surprise. "W-Wait, you're mages!" He looks at them with both relief and desperation. "Please, you've got to save our island!"

Looking to the man, Naruto and Claire look back at each other. "Well Naruto... Balls in your court. Are you going to ignore a cry for help?"

The rest just observe as the two stare off in silence, the elf had a cheeky smile on her face while the sage tries to keep his gaze stern. Finally, Naruto sighs, his expression shifting to resignation. "You play dirty you know..." The blonde grumbles.

The bow sizzles out of existence and Claire smiles even more widely. "I know right? Some say I've got some dark elf in me"

"Naruto, Erza will kill us," Gray reasons with the tall blond. "Mira will be actually pissed!"

"I know," the sage whines like a child in trouble with a teacher. "But how can I say no to someone asking for our help."

The ice mage was about to say something till a chop to the neck by Natsu knocks him to the ground unconscious. "NATSU!" Lucy waves her arms wildly.

"Hehehe" He laughs evilly as he shoves the knocked out mage to the boat with the cloaked man. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"S-Someone kill me..." The rosette moaned, nauseated as the rocking motions of the boat made his state even worse. "N-Naruto" He pleaded to the blonde. "The seal please..."

"Nah" Naruto replies. "You gotta us into this, you pay the consequences"

Now it was Gray's, who had awoken a few minutes ago, to laugh evilly. "Hehehe serves you right"

Claire looked on to the horizon towards where she knew their destination was. "I wonder what's going on in Garuda"

"You said you've been there before" Lucy speaks up. "Right?"

The boatman's eyes widen as she looks to the elf. "You've been to Garuda?" He asks in shock.

There was look in her eyes that the others couldn't quite describe. "Yes, many years ago"

"Then you know..."

"They're good people"

The others couldn't help but notice something was off with how the man and Claire were looking at each other. The man sighs in relief and mutters a soft; "Thank you..."

Naruto raises a brown. "What are you talking about?"

Claire waves him off. "Nothing important. Don't worry about it" Naruto wasn't convinced.

Gray looked at the man. "Hey old man, why are you taking us to Garuda. Most people, even pirates, avoid that place. Say that it's cursed"

A shadow is cast over the boatman's eyes. "It is indeed cursed" He replies. "My name is Bobo by the way. I used to live in the island. It was around a few years ago I fled, it is my hope you can lift this... Curse," Bobo removes the left side of his cloak.

Lucy and Gray gasp in shock, while Naruto's eyes widen. "Holy crap..." The blonde mutters. Claire only narrows her eyes.

Bobo's left arm was dark gray, but that wasn't the most disturbing thing. The muscles twisted in a way no human limb would, forming a form of carapace in some places, instead of fingers in his hand there were long sharp claws.

It looked more like a demon's arm.

Bobo points ahead of them; "There... Garuda Island."

In the horizon they saw a large landmass that seemed to peak out from the ocean with a mountain being its most distinguished feature. On the sky the sun was settling down, hiding behind the mountain's peak.

"Did anyone else just got an ominous feeling right now?" Naruto asked to no one in particular

"Um..." Lucy said. "Where is the old man?"

The others look around frantically as they noticed that, indeed, the boatman had disappeared. Claire's eyes go wide looking behind them; "We've got bigger issues!" Everyone looks back, save a motion sick Natsu, as they gaze in shock to a massive tidal wave coming their way.

"...Oh shit," Naruto mutters quietly.

The boat rocked violently as it was getting drafted into the giant wave. "Happy, lift the boat and fly!" Lucy shouted.

"Are you crazy?!" The cat shouted back.

"I can't believe I'm gonna die because of you!" Gray cursed as they were dragged more and more into the wave.

"Status report captain!" Claire called, somehow both finding it in herself to joke and be terrified at the same time. "We're royally fucked!"

They all scream as the wave hits hard.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

A soft groan comes from the buxom blond; "I'm not dead," she mutters quietly opening her eyes. Her gaze focused and sees the sky, she finds herself lying on her back. Lucy groans while sitting up to look around. "Natsu... Naru..."

The celestial mage realized she was on a beach at the borders of a tropical jungle. She looked at the wreckage of their boat and saw her friends stranded in the sand. "Is everyone okay?!" She asked in worry.

Natsu immediately rose, looking far too excited for someone who just survived crashing from a tidal wave. "Wow! Are we on Garuda?!"

Naruto groaned as he cracked his neck, he noticed the sun's position was higher than when they first saw it. "Guess we were unconscious for a while..."

The sage kneels to a just stirring Claire; "Well, the few men I've slept with slammed me harder than that." The elf laughs, finding it in her to joke.

"Oh must you?" Lucy exclaimed with a blush.

"If it's all civilized you're doing it wrong" The elf said sagely.

The Celestial mage grumbles. "Anyway" She tried to get things back on track. "The leader of a village around here is supposed to be our client. We better go find him"

Upon popping his joints as he stands, Gray looks dryly to everyone; "Well no use standing around here. We're stuck here might as well seeing what's going on." The ice mage glares to Naruto as they start walking; "You and your hero complex."

**'I'd call it suicidal tendencies'**

_'Oh shut it furball'_

The group trekked through the jungle, seeking for any sign of civilization. They eventually came about a clear path without trees, obviously a man-made road. Following it, they soon came across a large wooden gate in between tall walls made from wood.

"Is this it?" Lucy wondered.

"This is it" Claire replied, sounding very sure. "Is anyone here?!" She shouted with her hands around her mouth.

"Who goes there!" a man's voice yells behind the gate, they see two cloaked men peering from atop the wall. "Identify yourselves!"

Lucy puts her hands to her mouth; "We came from Fairy Tail. We're here to help!"

"You're from a guild! Show your insignia's!"

Each one shows their Fairy Tail symbols. "Strip the blonde girl" One of the men calls, making the other deadpan at him.

Natsu and Gray were already taking off her clothes, with a very excited Claire trying to undo her bra. "STOP THAT!" She shrieked.

Naruto gives the man a look. "S-Sorry, I got carried away. You can come inside!" The doors slowly open.

Lucy angrily puts her clothes back on. Grumbling, "You disgusting perverts… Claire stop that!" The elf whines in disappointment, letting go of the blonde's skirt.

The group enters, and they are received by the villagers, all covered from head to toe in heavy cloaks, hiding all their features. A hunchback man carrying a staff approaches them.

"We thank you for coming here, mages" He sounded old; his voice carried a small raspy tone. "I am the leader of this village, Mocha"

"We are from Fairy Tail" Naruto said, introducing them. "You posted a request saying your island needed help?"

"Indeed" Mocha replies with a nod. "Please, do not be afraid, for you need to take a look at what's happening to us. Everyone" He addressed the villagers. "Take off your robes"

Lucy gasps, while the others show their respected shock seeing each and every villager with an appendage looking demonic in nature. Mocha nods, "And this is not the worst of it. When the purple moon shines, I am afraid are appearances will not be so pleasant."

Claire only keeps her green eyes narrow while Gray lifts a brow; "A purple moon?"

"Yes" Mocha nods grimly. "It has to do with how we look; the moon emits some strange magic. We do not know why or how, but a few years ago the moon started shining purple on our island. Animals, birds, and we of course, are somehow... changed by it. This limbs you see here are the result"

Lucy looks at them in confusion. "The moon shining purple? We haven't seen anything like that back home"

"People from the mainland always said that" The elder said dejectedly. "But no, this phenomenon has only been occurring our island. I've consulted with doctors and anyone with even the smallest knowledge of magic, it is no disease, and they don't know what could be causing it"

"Look!" Happy suddenly shouted, pointing to the sky with one paw. "The moon is up!"

They looked up to see that his words were true, and that the moon, indeed, was shining purple. Screaming gain the group's attention as the villagers. Some hold their head while others fall to the ground, soon their bodies begin to shift.

Lucy covers her mouth and stares in horror along with the others. The only one remained calm was Claire, who was uncharacteristically quiet, only starting at the shifting villagers with an unreadable gaze.

The bodies of the villagers began taking many different forms; most of them looked very reptilian in appearance, developing deformed protuberances along with twisting of their limbs. Horns growing out of their skulls and bones piercing through the skin. Finally, it stopped, the villagers ceased their shouts, but they all wore weary and mournful expressions on their faces.

"Sorry if we scared you..." The elder, now looking completely like a demon, along with the rest of the village, apologized. "This is what the purple moon does to us; it turns our bodies into grotesque demons..." His gaze falls to the ground, the villagers cried openly at their misfortune, making the Fairies' heart go out for them. "Eventually, it changes more than just our looks, it twists our very souls…" Tears fell from his eyes. "I even-" He chokes on a sob, the sheer pain and heartbreak in his voice could be felt by all. "I even had to kill my son" He takes out a picture. "My son, whose soul became evil"

The Fairies stared with shock at the picture… it was the boatman who had taken them here, the same boatman who disappeared before they arrived.

While Lucy softly voiced her concerns, with Gray telling her to keep quiet, the elf remains quiet and Naruto lets out a long breathe; "What do you need?"

Mocha points upwards with his staff; "Please destroy the moon."

The team, understandably, falls silent at the request.

**'You're gonna need a lot of chakra'** the fox rumbles. **'Like waaaaaay more than I have'**

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The villagers were kind enough to grant them a house for them to sleep in. The group discussed what their options to solve the villagers' plight were.

"It's not like we can destroy a moon" Lucy mumbles while closing the curtains. She didn't want that baleful purple glare shining on them, turning them into demons as well.

The flame Dragon Slayer pondered. "Wonder how many punches it'd take?"

"You're actually considering it?!" Gray shouted incredulously.

"I think that's impossible Natsu" Naruto drawled, before turning his head to the elf that was standing by the other window. "You've been pretty quiet Claire, everything okay?"

The elf sighed and walked over them. "I didn't want to say anything in front of the villagers, they were acting very strange and I didn't know how they'd react. I didn't tell you this before because I didn't know how you'd react either, for all I knew, you would have dropped the job altogether. Their kind is not really cared for by other races"

Lucy looks at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what's wrong with these people?" The jinchuuriki asks.

Claire shakes her head. "There is nothing wrong them, aside from their mental state apparently" Her green eyes look at them all intently. "These people aren't human... they're demons"

"Their what," Both blonds almost yell out.

"Demons... But I have no idea why they have forgotten, any more than a purple moon in the sky."

"W-W-Wait, hold on a minute!" Gray waved his arms wildly. "You mean to tell us they normally look like THAT?!"

"Yeah" The elf said as she sat down. "This island, Garuda, is also known as 'Demon Island' for a reason. Most of the wildlife, and people as you have seen, are actually demons with shapeshifting abilities. But like I said, somehow they've forgotten about it. You saw how they were all acting" Claire rubs her chin in thought. "Something is causing some deep mental pollution on them..."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Natsu asked in confusion.

Claire lets out a humorless laugh. "I thought you'd turn back if you knew you were helping demons. Understandably, most people are wary of their kind. But they don't know these people, they are kind and they've never hurt anyone. I thought-"

"You thought we wouldn't accept them" Naruto finished for her, a look of understanding in his eyes.

The elf lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thought so little of you" She apologized with heartfelt sincerity.

He had been called a demon before, by people who didn't understand, and was shunned because of it. He had learnt not to judge on looks alone, or even the reputation someone had. These people may be demons, but the pain they felt, the love they showed, was all he needed to know they were people too.

As he was about to voice his opinion, Gray beat him to it. "I don't care what they are" He said, much to the blonde's surprise. "They are desperate and they are suffering, we ain't turning back now"

Lucy nodded with a smile. "We'll do anything we can to help them"

"Yeah!" Natsu banged his fists. "I'm gonna break that moon to pieces!"

"You still on that?!"

Claire gave them a sincere look of fondness and thankfulness, while Naruto's surprise was quickly replaced by heartfelt joy. At that moment, they couldn't feel any more proud of being called Fairy Tail.

The moment passed, Gray voiced another concern. "What about Bobo? What happened to him?"

"He most likely escaped the island while everyone began acting weird. And on the boat, well, he must have flown away the moment he saw the tidal wave"

"Flown?" They repeated with curious glances.

"Yeah, they have wings" After what they've seen and been told, they weren't really surprised anymore. "I don't know what's happening to them, it might be a spell that's being cast around the island" The elf's gaze shifted. "Or maybe... hmm, there is a place where perhaps we'll find our answers, a temple not far from here. But it's late now; we'll set out by morning"

"Sounds like plan" Gray nodded before lying down.

Natsu grumbled. "Still think we should blow up the moon..." He fell asleep quickly despite his mood.

Naruto shrugged and lay next to him. "The temple you mentioned might be our best bet" He stretched and closed his eyes, crossing his hands behind his heads. "Night guys"

"Night" Lucy said in return. She laid down for a much needed rest... and soon felt pair of hands sneaking around her waist.

Claire smiled widely as she nestled her head on the blonde's bosom. "Night~"

"...GET OFF ME!"

XxX ~ and then ~ XxX

As per Claire's request, none spoke of what they discussed last night before bed. It was better they first figured out why the villagers had forgotten what they truly are. After eating breakfast, the group follows the elven woman to the ancient temple.

"So what the hell could be affecting them?" Gray asks, eyes scanning through forest.

"I have a hunch" Claire simply said. "But I can't really confirm anything, it wouldn't make sense either. Because what I think might be affecting them hasn't done that before"

Natsu scratches his chin; "Can I ask why there is a village of demons right next to a holy temple as you called it this morning? I know I am not the smartest guy around but that sounds off." Getting an 'Aye' from Happy who is in Lucy's arms.

"Because that temple hasn't been emitting any kind of holy energy since the last... thousands of years" She replied with a certain edge of her voice, the confusion this whole situation brought didn't sit well with her at all. Something was happening, and she suspected the temple was the answer.

But if her suspicions were right... then what did they imply?

Sitting high in the trees, away from their sight, a white fox gives slowly lets out vulpine smirk.

His cerulean gazing around the forest Naruto lightly hums; "This place is peaceful all things considered. Meditating would be awesome here." He soon whistles along with Gray at the sight of the temple. "Damn that's big dattebayo."

It felt nostalgic seeing the temple after so long. Claire found her sight getting lost as she felt a... a power, an energy washing from it in soft waves. Calming, soothing... divine.

_'How is it-?_' Her thoughts were cut short as her ears picked something, a rumble in the earth.

Natsu's own enhanced hearing caught it too. "Did you guys hear that?"

The group stops, looking around. "What, you hear something?" The ice mage asks.

Claire nods, looking around for the source. "Something big is coming our way"

The ground soon shakes from loud rumbling steps as a massive shadow soon looms over as they all turn to look. "Holy... Shit," Naruto summing up everyone's thoughts.

It was a rat... a gigantic rat with turquoise fur, dressed in a black corset-style top with pink frilly edges, a white lace headband and a red ribbon tied across the chest. It approached them with the curiosity of its smaller kind, bringing its small (small compared to the rest of its body) paws before the torso and titling its head at them.

"Would really like to say a giant rat is a new one for me..." The elf drawled. "Sadly, it isn't"

_'Hey furball, finally found you a date.'_

**'Ha, Ha**.' The Kyuubi laughs dryly.

"Come on guys kick its but," Lucy says fearfully behind Natsu and Naruto. They see the gigantic rodent begin to take a deep breath.

**Ice make: Shield**!

A wall of ice courtesy of Gray rises in front of the group as the rat exhales.

However, it's not a solid matter that spew from its mouth, but a gas which carried a powerful stink to it. It clashed against the ice shield and went over the edges, reaching the group the moment it reached their noses the group fell to the ground in a coughing fit. Much to the rat's delight if its laughter was any indication.

"What kind of attack is this?!" Naruto gagged.

While it was distracted by its own laughter, the group managed to break into a run towards the temple. But the giant rat soon noticed it and gave them chase; it sprinted towards them on all fours, quickly closing the distance.

"**Ice make**" Gray chanted, gathering magic on his hand once again before slamming it on the ground. "**Floor**!"

The blond Uzumaki was not sure to either laugh or feel pity seeing the massive rodent's eyes go as wide dinner plates, it's legs finding zero traction with now ice covering it. Natsu however did not hold back as the rat fell on its back sliding hard into a large boulder, knocking it out.

"HAHAHA! Did you see that?" The dragon slayer holds his side while pointing.

"No time!" The elf grasps the back of his scarf and drags him. "To the temple!" The rest of the group didn't need to be told twice as the continued running towards the temple, leaving the rat behind.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They ran up to the stone stairs and slowed their pace once they felt they were out of danger. Crossing a massive entrance, most of the Fairies could help but gawk at the size of the stone temple, marveling at the architecture that still stood.

"It's really big" Lucy commented.

"Look at that" Natsu pointed at one of the carved murals. "Those look like moon shaped marks"

"I heard this place used to be called Moon Island" Gray added.

"And you'd be right" Claire said, looking at carvings with reverence. The Fairies were surprised to see the free-spirited elf to speak with such respect and, dare they say it, worship. "This used to be a temple to the gods"

"Right" Naruto nodded. "You know this because you visited before no?"

"Rather because I was told by my father actually" She replied. "Once, in a time long lost, this temple was a place of worship, built to honor the gods" Her eyes held sadness in them. "But... those days are gone. Even the holy magics have faded" She softly runs a hand over a pillar. "Except... It actually feels like..."

"How old is this place for 'holy magic' to fade?" Natsu wondered, looking at the floor with a questioning look. "Even the floor looks bad" He began stomping his foot on the floor.

"Stop that!" Lucy shouted. "You just said the floor looks-!"

Suddenly, the stone beneath their feet gave up. Crumbling as the others feel through screaming.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They all groan as they awake to find themselves down in some massive cavern. Natsu chuckles sheepishly at being glared by everyone before receiving a hard slap to the back of the head courtesy of an angry Naruto.

"Don't do that again," the young sage growls.

Dusting herself off Claire stands looking around. "I remember this too. It's one of the caves under the temple. A whole network actually" At the end of one of the tunnels, she notices an icy mist coming from it. "What is that..?" She wonders.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asks as he helps Lucy stand up.

"Something's there!" The elf points, before trotting towards the source of the mist.

"Hey wait up!" Natsu rushes in. "I wanna see too!" He said with childlike excitement.

Gray sighs as he shakes his head. "That moron never changes"

Whatever Naruto was about to say died in his mouth as they heard both Claire and Natsu gaps in shock. "T-That wasn't there before..." The elf says meekly.

The other four shared a confused look before breaking into a run to see what the deal was about... and stopped the moment they saw a giant monster incased in ice.

It was massive. It had a large torso and two large arms that ended in scaly hands. Around the left and right part of its body, along with around the neck and the back, it was covered with a series of spikes. It also had two large bird-like feet. Its hair was mane-like in shape and, flowing down to the nape of its neck. It had a pair of horns that pointed upwards, jutting from a plate on the forehead. Along with sharp teeth and hollowed eyes.

"It's a demon..." Naruto breathed in realization.

While the group stared at the frozen monster with shock and surprise, Gray could only stare in terror and hate. His hands tightened into fists, and his teeth clenched. His whole body shook with barely contained rage. Images, painful images flashed before his eyes.

Destruction. Death. Blood. A monster that loomed above everything else, crashing everything on its path as if they were mere ants before him. A roar whose strength sent shock waves and a sheer raw power with teared through the land with ease.

This was the monster that had haunted his nightmares...

"D-Deliora!"

"Impossible," Claire looks to the young mage. "I heard he was killed"

Gray shakes his head; "No, he was sealed away in this. But what the hell is he doing here!?"

He's breathing was becoming very erratic, they could practically feel the rage coming from him in waves. "How? How?!" He seethed.

Naruto approached him in concern. "Gray calm down" He said, placing a hand on his friend's trembling shoulder.

The elf of the group perked up and looked to one of the underground paths. "Someone's coming" She whispered loud enough for the others to hear.

The fairies hid behind a large boulder as the footsteps get louder; "I heard voices in here. It is better to double check." A male voice speaks up.

Another voice makes a dog-like groan. Both Naruto and Claire lift a brow at each other before peeking just enough to have a look. They see two men, one short with a green shirt with collar, blue uplifted hair. The other a tall shirtless man with shaggy brown hair, tattoos, and dog-like features on his face, down to even dog ears on his head.

"I want to take a nap," the dog man yawns.

The short blue haired man sighed; "Toby... You have been taking in too much Moon drip haven't you? I mean those ears..."

"I DIDN'T!" The doggish young man snaps. "YOU KNOW THESE ARE JUST FOR SHOW!"

"Jeez calm down" The blue haired young man sighs. "I was teasing you, you idiot"

The young man named Toby gives another dog-like groan.

"Moon Drip?" Lucy whispers. "What's that?"

"I don't know" The elf whispers back, scratching her head. "I... I think that must a sort of celestial magic"

A new voice suddenly made itself known. "Yuuka-san, Toby-san" It was a woman's. "I have sad news"

A beautiful pink haired girl tied in pigtails, a choker tied around her neck in a ribbon, with purple and pink short spaghetti dress with light pink trimmings, black leggings, with high-heeled sandals. Least around Lucy's age, and quite striking in Naruto's opinion.

Her sapphire eyes shine with sadness as Yuuka lifts a brow; "Something wrong Sherry?"

"Someone really beat up Angelica." Sherry cups her hands in between her ample chest.

"She's just a mouse!" Toby snaps once more, he was prone to pointless anger as the Fairies were beginning to notice.

Sherry narrows her eyes at him. "Angelica isn't just a mouse. She's a hunter who gallops through the darkness and **love**" She replied passionately.

"Well..." Claire whispers to Lucy who stares incredulously at the pink haired young woman. "Someone's feeling poetic"

Natsu sniffs to better feel their scent. "They smell different, they're not from here"

"So why are they here?" Happy whispers in between Natsu and Lucy.

Yuuka sighs; "Great... Intruders."

"Just when we are so close." Sherry says mournfully. "We must stop them now so the Reitei-sama is not bothered by this."

"...Cold Emperor?" Naruto whispers dryly. He even hears the fox scoff.

"Men and their ego," Was Claire's response. "Always needing a big title to compensate for other things"

Sherry looks up to a rupture in the roof. "The moonlight will gather soon" She turns to her companions once more. "Let's get rid of them before Reitei-sama finds about it"

"Yes" Yuuka nods in agreement. "They must have seen Deliora. We can't let them escape alive"

"We shall grant them eternal slumber" The pink haired girl said passionately. "In other words '**love**'"

Claire and Lucy shared a look that clearly said 'what is wrong with her?'

The trio retreats to where they came. The Fairies waited they were far enough and then left their cover.

Naruto looks to the giant frozen demon; _'Can you feel anything pass that ice?_'

**'Nothing brat, that ice is far from ordinary. But appearance wise, I am hardly impressed.'**

The blonde blinked before frowning. _'What do mean you feel nothing?_'

**'It's the ice, it must have been slowly draining it's lifeforce for years. That thing is practically dead' **the old fox pauses**; 'but doubt that brat who wields ice would believe that presently.' **

_'Is that actual concern?_' Naruto mentally smirks only hearing a scoff before falling into silence.

Suddenly, he saw Gray punch Natsu across the face, driving him to the ground. He really should start paying more attention to his surroundings whenever he started talking to the fox.

"A fire mage can't go near it" Gray snarled, fear and anger mixed in his features. "If the ice melts then Deliora shall be free, and no one will stop him" His words proved the fox's' correct, Gray believed the demon to still be alive.

"So you're saying it can be melt easily?!" Natsu snapped.

The ice mage actually looked taken aback; he lowered his gaze in shame. "No..."

"That ceremony won't be till nightfall," Naruto spoke up. "What's your story with this demon?"

Gray only looks at the blond before slumping down to the ground. "...When I was a kid, my family and my entire town was slaughtered by Deliora during one of his rampages. To this day I still wonder how the hell I survived that."

His voice was laced with old pain. "It was my teacher, the ice mage Ur, who defeated Deliora. She used a spell called Iced Shell to entrap him... at the cost of her life"

"Gray..." Lucy whispered softly, the others couldn't help but look at him in sympathy.

He lifts his gaze, his eyes held a piercing glare to them. "These people want unleash Deliora, we can't let that happen. I won't let them make Ur's sacrifice be for nothing..." He seethed through clenched teeth.

The group falls into silence while Lucy places a hand on Gray's shoulders. Naruto stands by Natsu; "You knew any of that?"

"It wasn't my business. Always figured if someone wants to tell me something about them they just do," Count on the dragon slayer's blunt philosophy, also getting an 'Aye sir' from Happy on Naruto's shoulder.

Shaking his head the blond sage looks to the elf of the group; "You said this place was to worship the Gods?"

Claire blinked, suddenly remembering what she had been saying earlier. "Oh yes. This was a place to worship not just the moon and other celestial deities, but also the Loa"

Lucy tilts her head. "The Loa?"

"The Earthbound Gods or the Primal Gods as they were also called. The gods born of this world, given power and divinity by the spirit of the planet. Long ago they helped alongside mortals to keep the balance of Earthland... But it was said a dark curse sent them into slumber," Claire's voice gave a slight tremble.

The elf sits beside Gray. "It was long before I was born. Pretty much all races of Earthland fought against a great darkness, the pillars of the world, those which held the balance of nature, defiled and turned against the gods. Cursing them to a deep sleep from which they haven't woken yet"

'**Huh**' The fox muttered. '**Kaguya did something like that actually; she absorbed the Shinju in our world and used its ties with the planet to put the gods to sleep**'

It took Naruto a few seconds for the full weight of the words to dawn on him. "Wait, WHAT?!"

Claire, misunderstanding what was the cause of his outburst, just nodded. "Yeah, that's usually the reaction most people have" And she could see he wasn't alone in that, the other Fairies were also looking at her in shock.

The sage inwardly cursed and made sure this time he didn't voice his thoughts. _'What are you talking about?! Who is Kaguya?!' _Silence was all Naruto heard; _'Damn it Kyuubi tell me!_' Again nothing, the blond mentally growls.

"Wait... I read a lot of books on Earthland history," the buxom blond spoke up. "How is it I never heard once of the Loa?"

"Lucy this was nearly two thousand years ago. And thanks to the dragon wars four hundred years ago, much was lost," Claire reasons.

"Dragon War?!" Natsu exclaims, eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"Oh yeah, by the way, your dad's race waged a war because some wanted to eat people and others didn't" The Dragon Slayer could only sputter in shock. "I'll tell you about it later. Anyway, it wasn't only the Dragon War. There were other many conflicts before it, like the Caelum invasions"

"That I did hear about" Lucy comments. "The empire of Caelum had conquered a lot of Ishgar, the Kaesars' dynasty was one of the largest and most prosperous the continent had seen..." She winces. "Though the empire had its times of tyranny where slavery was legal"

"Still is actually" The elf says. "In western Caelum at least. Then you have the conflicts which came after empire's dwindling, including those that did not involve the human races. Five thousand years is a long time, it's no surprise so much was forgotten. My people, the Eldrin were lucky enough to have a few books left of that time. Along with those who lived it. Our queen Keishara, my father, and few others were alive back then."

"Ever since the god went to sleep, their power on this world has greatly diminished..." Her eyes shift uneasily. "Yet somehow, the energies of the temple are strong enough to affect the demons that must have gotten close. This doesn't make any sense" She shakes her head. "Either someone among these people has been tampering with the temple's magic, or they've found something to bolster it. Maybe something they plan to use to unleash Deliora"

"... What if..." Lucy bits her inner lip. "What if the Loa have awakened?"

Claire blew a raspberry, along with a bit of her raven black hair from her face. "Please" Her green eyes twinkled with amusement. "The Loa haven't awakened in the last five thousand years, NOTHING that my people did could awake them, hell I think there are a few in the world that still try to do so. Why now of all times?" She crosses hear arms behind her back and leans back at the rocky wall of the cavern. "And more importantly, how?"

When no one spoke the elf shrugs; "Exactly. It would take something primordial that even I can't comprehend in order to bring them back. And that's just a guess. But we should focus on the now, we should wait and see what these people are doing so we can stop them"

As they waited for the moon's light to shine on the caverns, Lucy voiced her boredom and anxiety, so she summoned the Celestial Spirit Lyra to lighten the mood.

The notes and lyrics went nearly ignored by Gray, yet they stirred memories from within him. Memories which made him feel joy and sadness all the same. Of a woman with short black hair who looked smirked at him, a powerful and kind person, the type of mage he aspired to be.

_'My training is harsh, you sure you're up for it Gray?'_

_'Heh, Yup! I can do anything!' _

The smirk had turned into a proud smile. Whenever she smiled at him like that, Gray could remember what it felt to have a mother.

As Lyra's song continued, his hands which were joined trembled, a single tear fell from his eye. _'I'll end this nightmare before it starts'_ He swore. _'As your student, I swear this to you Ur' _


	8. Devil's night

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23

Co-Author and Beta: Godospartan the kitsune

Chapter 8: Devil's night

XxX ~ last time ~ XxX

_The notes and lyrics went nearly ignored by Gray, yet they stirred memories from within him. Memories which made him feel joy and sadness all the same. Of a woman with short black hair who looked smirked at him, a powerful and kind person, the type of mage he aspired to be._

_'My training is harsh, you sure you're up for it Gray?'_

_'Heh, Yup! I can do anything!'_

_The smirk had turned into a proud smile. Whenever she smiled at him like that, Gray could remember what it felt to have a mother._

_As Lyra's song continued, his hands which were joined trembled, a single tear fell from his eye. 'I'll end this nightmare before it starts' He swore. 'As your student, I swear this to you Ur'_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As they waited in the cave, Lucy's summoning still played gently on her harp while Claire eyed her new human friends. It was so rare for the elf to discover humans having open minds like these children. It surprised her, and in a good way. She had been around for more than their lifetimes combined, over four centuries of traveling and experiences had shown her much. Her learning of the world fueled by her unquenchable wanderlust. She had come to know some humans as superstitious, mistrusting, and with bigoted views on the world around them.

That was not to say she hadn't met those who were just as friendly, cheerful and kind-hearted like these human mages of Fairy Tail. It wasn't fair to paint an entire race with the same brush. She herself wasn't one to judge, her race had her own faults, she knew a good number of her people who had a stick up their asses and were in need of a good beating.

It was always the same. People were chaotic like that, and so was she. So she always just went on her way regardless of who she met. Though she might grow close to them, she would always be on the move, her spirit was too wild and free to settle down in one place.

Fairy Tail had been a whim. She had heard great things about them from queen Keishara, the wise elven queen considered herself a friend of the guild's current master, and said the founder of Fairy Tail had been a very dear friend to her. So when she first met this gang of lunatics, her interest was piqued, and she decided to stick around for a time, see what adventures she could have with them.

And yet... that interest was quickly becoming something more. The way they all smiled for the simplest of reasons, how they fought over petty things constantly, but the sheer family love they all held for one another, the determination of its members to do what their hearts told them was right, like right now when they decided to help the people of Garuda, not caring that they were demons... it was beautiful to behold.

Claire was feeling drawn to these people. With a soft smile she decided that perhaps she would stay around longer than she usually did. The future was bound to be interesting around them.

She giggled watching Natsu snored loudly with a sleeping Happy beside the dragon slayer. Not far away, Naruto kept his eyes on the frozen Deliora; _'Well what do you have to say now furball?_'

**"About what brat?"**

The old fox could feel the blonde runt's smile was positively smug, and it infuriated him to no end. _'These people ain't as bad as you thought' _Yes, there was definitely smugness in the voice projected through his thoughts. _'All those times you taunted me, saying they wouldn't accept me..._' Naruto's smirk grew wider, both feeling elation and pride at being a member of this great Guild. _'Well, look where we are now. Helping demons just because they are good people in need of help_'

A bored snort came from the Kyuubi; **"Not all of demon kind choose to be evil Naruto. You will find Demons are vastly complex creatures."**

Too stunned at not being called 'kit' or 'whelp' or 'brat, or any other of the nicknames the old fox had for him, Naruto found himself unable to reply.

**"Humans like their views of things to be black and white. Demons, while many of them are far from being saints, delve into a line humans are not comfortable with, a line which deviates from their perceptions of the world, so they don't bother to understand and instead choose to fear and shun it" **The old fox paused**; "Why do you think the demons in that village live in such a remote place? Because do you honestly think you can tell me, humanity as a whole will ever accept those demons? Their village would be burned, and the 'evil' demons slain. That is what your kind does. Reject what is different from you."**

_'We're not all like that! Can't you least see that?! Not every human are simple minded bastards!'_

The Kyuubi grunts in irritation **"Up until know you were afraid these Fairies were going to reject you if they knew about me! So don't act all sanctimonious when you yourself doubted them!"**

Those words made Naruto mentally flinch. Of course he was still terrified of telling the others in the guild about the Kyuubi. He thought of how easy these people had accepted him. Would it be the same if he told them he had a primordial demon sealed in his soul?

Would they see him as a monster, a demon..? He knew the old fox had him. But how hypocritical did he actually sound saying one thing yet was too much of a coward to do something else.

Part of him knew he was being illogical when he had witness with his own eyes how his friends were willing to stand up for these demons... But the fearful part of him kept telling himself these were 'good demons', they weren't the savage force of destruction sealed in him, nor the demon trapped in the ice before them.

He was afraid, plain and simple. Afraid they'd look at him with those same eyes everyone in Konoha used to give him. While he came to be accepted in the end, it was only through impossible heroics and years of hard work. If he were being honest with himself, he would have never told anyone about his status as a jinchuuriki, ever. Looking back, the only times people found out it was because of circumstances and other people revealing that aspect of his life.

He had never told a single person himself...

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Light footsteps echoed through a tunnel deep under the temple, as Ultear, who alone for the moment dropped her magic guise as a man to explore. She had to admit the system of hand craved tunnels was very well made, and whoever did this took their time.

Still, a bored sigh escaped her lips; "That child honestly believes killing an already dying demon will make him better than _her_," the last word came out in a growl.

Honestly, he was so deranged in believing he could escape her shadow. How he rambled on about melting that accursed ice and slaying Deliora. Not counting on the fact that the demon had pretty much one foot on death's door, at his current power the delusional ice mage would not last more than a minute. It was all a pointless endeavor that was bound to end in failure either way.

It came as no surprise to Ultear that such a foolish boy as Lyon was a product of her mother's teachings.

Then that other runt and his friends came. The second student of Ur, no doubt they would come to blows with Lyon and his followers once they find out what they were up too.

A grin graced her slips at the mental image of Ur's precious students tearing themselves apart.

She shook away those hate filled thoughts and concentrated on her task. Not long ago, Grimoire Heart had able to track down a strange sort of energy coming from the temple. Galuna Island's temple always possessed a passive field of holy magic, but lately the powers seemed... renewed, for some reason they had yet to explain.

Taking advantage of the fools wasting their time on the Moon Drip ritual, she had managed to easily enter their ranks under guise to better examine the temple. There was something here, a reason as to why the powers of the temple's holy magic were acting up all of sudden.

It could be that the people intent on freeing Deliora had accidentally done something, a side-effect of the Moon Drip washing the entire island with its power for three years straight. But Master Hades still wanted her to investigate.

And Ultear was intent on not leaving this island empty handed.

She kept walking for some minutes, going deeper still into the maze of tunnels. She noticed how the air began to shift from cold to a slightly warmer temperature. It only got stronger as she kept walking.

A feeling washed over as the warmth increased. She couldn't describe it in words as the warmth enveloped her as she walked further in. But her heart felt light, her soul calm, as it was those moments her adopted daughter smiled or hugged her.

She perked up seeing a faint glow in the distance that pulsed almost like a heart.

She ended up reaching a dead end, a chamber that, like the rest of the tunnels, was devoid of any properly made walls, carvings or any type of stonework previously seen on the temple. Though while there were signs of man-made works on previous sections of the underground tunnels, this place stood empty. Well, save for one thing.

At the end of the cave, resting atop some rocks was the source of the glow and the warmth that swept through the entire section.

There laid a crystal.

It looked like emerald, an uneven raw piece of uncut gemstone. The crystal gave off a light, shimmering, comforting, and inviting. It moved like waves inside the gem.

Ultear had found the source of the anomaly, of that she was certain.

She walked up to the crystal, observing it carefully, trying to spot any traps that might trigger, feeling if there were any curses on the object. Ultear slowly placed her hands around it, and was greeted by the pleasurable sensation a delightful warm, like the kind one feels when taking a hot bath during a cold night.

She reached out to the crystal with her magic, trying to better grasp the essence of its power... Her eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped her lips. This thing... it was ancient beyond memory, powerful beyond measure, it carried a presence of bygone ages which rarely could be found in the current era.

Ultear felt a hunger surge within her, as if tempted by the sight a delicious and exotic fruit. The energy of the crystal was as restrained as it appeared, it could be drawn upon easily. She eagerly wrapped her own magic around it and pulled...

Power. Raw, pure, primordial power assaulted every small part of her being. It traversed through her body, filling her veins and sending shocks through her nerves. Ultear's eyes shot open and she threw her head back, gasping loudly from the sheer energy coursing inside her. She fell to her knees as these could support no longer.

Her body shivered as she felt she had climaxed as pleasure induced gasps escaped her lips. Her eyes half lidded as she gazed at the crystal; _'S... Such... Power..._'

One hand barely managing to support her body, the other still holding the gem tightly, as she heaved out long deep breaths. The sheer enormity of the power that had assaulted her body was too much; she hadn't been able to control herself. Slowly she regained some semblance of control as she stood up on shaky legs. She wiped the trails of saliva running down the corners of her lips, her breath returning to its regular rhythm.

She held the crystal before her and smiled with intoxication. "Well now..." Her voice was breathy and huskies than usual, deep into the center of her eyes shined barely visible speck of the same emerald light that emanated from the gem in her hand. She felt invigorated beyond belief, she felt as if this crystal had taken her to a new realm of existence, and had made her feel things she never felt before. As if she previously lacked all senses as was finally able to sense a whole new realm of sensations which had induced extreme feelings of empowerment and pleasure all at once. For a moment, she had felt beyond human... "Isn't this interesting?"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Natsu and Happy woke up with a start as the ground suddenly shook. "Hey, what's up?" the dragon slayer muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

Gray and Naruto both stand quickly as a spell circle appeared over the frozen body of Deliora; "Okay, what the hell is going on?" the blond Uzumaki said quietly.

A mid-size beam of energy soon was the answer as it blasted forth from the circle like a drill on the ice.

"What are trying to do?" Lucy wondered out loud.

The ice mage among them only looked on with fear; "They're trying to free Deliora!"

"Shit!" The elf of the group cursed loudly. "We gotta stop them!"

They quickly took the path those who served the so called 'Reitei' had taken before, calculating it would lead them to the surface. Gray ran with all the speed he could muster, constantly chanting to himself that he wouldn't let this people get away with it. They ran through the tunnels until they reached the end, where they saw the darkness of the night being pushed away by the magic that was being cast.

They left through the entrance of a hill and quickly spotted a group of people in robes chanting over some broken ruins, a great beam of light descended from the moon itself and unto a well which they guessed connected directly with Deliora's chamber.

"What the..?" Naruto stared in shock. "Are they using moonlight for their ritual?"

"Oh gods no" Claire whispered in terror. She could feel the sheer amount of energy running through the moonlight "this type of celestial magic... it must be a type of ritual designed to break down other spells"

"It's a ritual which means 'Moon Drip' in the Beria language" To their surprise it was Lyra who answered, the usually cheerful spirit had a serious look on her face.

"O-Oh right you're still here..." Lucy muttered. With all the commotion she had forgotten to send Lyra back...

Slamming a flaming fist into his palm, Natsu grinned; "Well lets kick their asses!" he was about to jump over till Lyra surprisingly stronger than she looked, grabbed his foot and threw him back. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Sorry, but it is better to know who is doing this than getting overwhelmed isn't it?" Lyra said in a serious tone.

"Hey, who is that guy?" Naruto wondered as they hid behind some crumbled ruins.

Walking towards the group of cultist was a man of average height, wearing a large cloak and a carved horned helmet with a long tail of horse hair which covered most of his face, all of it made him stand out more, giving him a greater presence. He was accompanied by Sherry, Toby, and Yuuka.

"If I were to guess" Claire spoke while crossing her arms. "I'd say that's 'Reitei'"

"It's almost at hand," Reitei spoke with smooth toned voice. "After so many long years Deliora shall be free... Yuuka, you said there were possible intruders at the temple?"

"Yes Reitei-Sama, Shall I search for them?"

"I want no interference or distractions..."

"Understood," the blue haired man nodded.

Gray look at the helmeted man in shock, his breathing becoming heavier. _'That voice... it can't be..._'

"How long until Deliora is finally released?" Reitei asked.

"One or two days more perhaps" Sherry answered.

Toby, once more letting out an unwarranted outburst, shouted. "Which is it?!"

Reitei ignored the shenanigans of his companion and instead focused on the beam of pure moonlight. "We're so close... I don't want anyone interfering, while the intruders remain hidden to us, I want you three to go and obliterate the village on the other side of the island"

The Fairies gasped in shock and horror. "Wait, he's gonna harm innocent people?!" Lucy exclaimed in outrage.

Naruto grunted in anger. "Okay, that's it" He jumped over the crumbled wall with the intent of stopping them. Getting 'Aye sir' from Happy on his shoulder.

"I'm with you there" Claire said with anger as she summoned her bow of blue starlight.

"FINALLY!" Natsu shouted and stood over the wall. Taking a deep breath, he let out a great burst of fire in the air to get their attention.

It worked, as the robed mages and their leaders turned towards them, startled by the sudden burst of flames. "What in the..?" Reitei exclaimed in surprise.

XxX ~ Ultear ~ XxX

Her body practically hovered just at the entrance of to where Deliora's body is housed, as the intoxicated smile never left her lips. Ultear can feel Lyon and his followers above her, as well as… Her smile turned predatory, "So you've come as well Naruto..." The glow in her eyes intensifies as the crystal glowed in her hand. "Show me your true power," Ultear purred.

Lifting her hand that held the crystal, she could see Deliora dormant and dying in his icy prison. "I restore your life anew; let your rage loose upon the world once more!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Those marks" Sherry exclaimed in surprise. "They're from Fairy Tail!"

"Tch" Reitei made a sound of displeasure. "I don't care who they are" He pulled out an arm from underneath his cloak. "They stand in my way, they die!" Bringing down his hand in a swift motion, a wave of greenish colored ice shot forth from the ground, heading directly towards the Fairies.

Acting on instinct, Gray jumped before the ice, and countered it with his own magic. The clash created a large icy geyser sprouting from the ground.

"Don't you just stand there!?" The ice mage shouted. "Stop them from getting to the village!"

"On it!" Naruto shouted, he became a blur as he jumped quickly all over the terrain. Too fast for Reitei to anticipate his movements and stop him.

"What are you waiting for?! Go to the village!" He ordered his followers.

Sherry, Toby and Yuuka swiftly turned and once more ran towards their destination, but were stopped in their tracks when five blue arrows rained down from the sky and embedded themselves in the ground before them. The arrows shimmered and exploded, the blast was strong enough to send them to the ground.

"Guh!" They shouted as they were thrown backwards.

Creating three more starlight arrows, notched and ready to fire, an enraged Claire glared hard at the trio. "Try and go near that village, humans, and I will kill you where you stand."

Having dispelled Lyra, Lucy brought out Taurus. The buxom blond's eyes showed her own anger. "You're not setting one foot to the village. How can you be so cruel?!"

Gray kept his eyes on Reitei; "Been a while hasn't it Gray?" the helmet wearing man smirked.

"It is you..."

Reitei chuckled and proceeded to remove his helmet. Revealing a young man about their age, his hair was spiky, with some think strands partially covering the left side of his forehead, its color was bluish silver. His eyes were dark and slanted. He flashed a haunting smirk at Gray.

"Lyon..." The ice mage of Fairy Tail seethed.

"Come now, Gray. Is that any way to talk to a former fellow student?"

Lucy and Natsu's jaw dropped at the revelation. "Wait, what?!" Claire's eyes widened and she let out a soft gasp.

Naruto, who was in the process of placing seals on the trio to limit their movements, snapped his gaze back the two ice users and looked at them with shock. "Are you serious?!"

_**'What a twist!**_' The fox laughed, amused by the whole situation.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Gray's fist shook with rage. "You would go this far to disrespect our master!"

"That's rich coming from you," Lyon said darkly. "Since it's your fault she was killed."

The Fairy ice mage's faces was a mixture of anger and regret, Lyon's words cut deeply into him for Gray believed them to be the truth. So caught up in his own internal struggle he did not react in time when Lyon fired a blast of ice magic straight at him.

Natsu jumped in front of Gray just in time to intercepted, he snarled as his fire fist shroud collided with the attack, the clash of the elements creating a soft fog that quickly dissipated.

"Snap out of it!" The Dragon Slayer shouted. "You can't let this prick's words get to you!"

"Gray!" Naruto called for his friend. "I don't know what happened between you and him, but he's planning to release the demon, we have to stop him!"

His friends' words managed to reach the ice mage, the image of Ur smiling at him, teaching him and Lyon, appeared on his mind. Gray let out a heavy breath as he regained his focus; he stood tall and glared at his fellow student. "Lyon, I don't know what possessed you to do this, but I won't let you dishonor Ur's memory"

The silver haired young man's face twisted in anger. "Spare me your empty platitudes Gray" He seethed. "Ur failed; she died because of your stubbornness"

Gray's face remained resolute, refusing to let his words get to him again.

"She should have made us the mages we're meant to be" Lyon continued. "If I can defeat Deliora, the demon that not even Ur could kill, than it'll prove just how much I've surpassed her" His lips twisted into a hideous smile, and his eyes carried a nearly demented look to them. "All I need to do first is destroy Iced Shell"

"Are you insane?!" Gray roared in outrage. "Not only would Deliora destroy you in a second! That ice is Ur!" His friends looked at him in shock in confusion. Even Lyon paused at that. "Iced Shell transforms the user's body into ice, the barrier which holds Deliora is Ur herself!"

His fists clenched tightly.

"If you destroy Iced Shell, you'll be killing Ur!"

For a moment, nobody said anything.

"Don't be a fool Gray" Lyon said coldly. "I already knew that"

Gray gasped in surprise. He had not expected Lyon to find out. Ur had made him promise he'd never tell Lyon the truth...

"Ur is already dead" The dynamic ice mage continued. "That barrier is not her anymore..." He said dispassionately, uncaring of fellow student's words, of the fate and legacy left by their old master. "Those are just scraps of ice"

A spike of killer intent rushed through the area for moment which nearly froze everyone, the only one unaffected was Gray, whose anger surpassed anything the blonde ninja could make. It vanished as Naruto snarled over at Gray's former friend; "Where is your fucking honor?" He growled. "You would be that disrespectful to you own late master's body?!"

Lightly glaring over, Lyon eyed the blond for the moment; "You're the Sage of Fairy Tail. This does not concern you; this is between me and Gray."

"Well tough luck!" It was Lucy who spoke. "Cause the moment you went on about hurting innocent people it became our problem!" The Celestial Mage stood next to Natsu and Gray. "And I don't care what you say, if you've got a bone to pick with Gray, and then you also have one with us!"

Natsu grinned savagely in cracked his knuckles. "We're gonna kick your ass!"

"Fairy Tail style" Naruto added with a grin.

"Ohhh nobody told me we had a style" The elf of the group joked, but her eyes were filled with the same determination.

Gray looked stunned at his comrades, even he felt this was something he needed to do on his own, he was greatly touched by how fast they were willing to stand at his side. "You guys..."

XxX ~ Ultear ~ XxX

The Time Mage grinned wildly as the ice cracked and melted, destroying the legacy left by that woman felt incredibly good. She absently wondered if this euphoria was brought on by her own feelings, or if she was drunk on the crystal.

The Iced Shell had drained Deliora's lifeforce for over a decade, so under normal circumstances the demon would fall apart dead mere moments after its release, and while she was able accelerate the destruction of Ice Make with her own magic, she could not wind back the time on beings already dead.

...But the crystal in her hand was proving to be a magnificent tool. It was filled such primordial power, such life essence, that she was able to quickly rejuvenate the demon as she freed him, returning its lifeforce to its prime.

"Come forth Deliora!" She exclaimed in ecstasy. "Break away from your prison, and crush that accursed woman's students!"

The dark eyes of the demon suddenly blazed like fire.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"We settle this Lyon," Gray spoke with determination geared up for an ice spell.

His former friend scoffed; "You never could defeat me when we were children. You think that has..."

A deafening roar shook the very earth beneath their feet, while everyone covered their ears. "What the hell is that?!" Natsu yelled out

"Aye, my ears are bleeding…" Happy whined.

"Reitei-sama!" One of the robbed cultist shouted, fear filled his voice. The others slowly backed away from the ritual, disrupting the moon beam until it fizzled out of existence. "D-Deliora is escaping!"

Everyone present gasped in shock and terror, none more so than Gray. His eyes quivered while sweat run down his face. _'No, no, no! They said they the ritual was days of being complete_!' He shook his head and willed to steel himself. If Deliora truly was free... then he might have to resort use Iced Shell himself...

It was his duty as Ur's student, to stop that monster.

"What?!" Lyon shouted in outrage. "I was informed it would take at least two days more!" Had they miscalculated? They had been doing this for years... A savage grin formed in his lips. "No matter... Now it's the time I've been waiting for so long, I'll kill Deliora myself!"

"**Hey whelp"** The Kyuubi dryly spoke inside Naruto's head. **"I don't know what the hell happened, but that thing is alive again. I can feel it"**

_'How?!_' Naruto questioned in alarm. The situation was getting out of hand.

"**Beats me"** the old fox replied casually. **"Oh by the way, I can feel that thing's power, and I'm pretty sure you do too. So... yeah, if Ice Runt the Second tries to fight it, he'll die... This should be fun"**

_'Anyone ever tell you, your sense of humor is messed up_,' Naruto dryly replied.

The ground erupted, which made everyone scatter as a beam of pure energy fired into the heavens. Natsu and Naruto, protectively shielded Lucy who held onto Happy as the cultist were sent flying. Taurus used his axe to keep himself from flying as he had grabbed Gray and Claire with one arm.

Soon the beam faded, replaced by a massive muscular arm that shot out from the hole. The arm came down heavily on the ground, further cracking it apart, great blue hued claws dug into the earth as another arm came, and sending tremors as it impacted the ground. A deep guttural growls was heard as the arms pulled, slowly bringing into view the visage of a great beast. Two great horns sprouting upwards from a bone-like plate on the forehead, long dark blue hair flowing like a mane to the nape of its neck, a pair of eyes which blazed like the inferno and a large maw filled with razor sharp teeth.

Everyone slowly back away as the demon brought the rest of its body to the surface, dust and rubble fell from its body as it stood up, forcing all those presence to raise their heads as the demon's height was that of at least a three story building.

"Gods..." Claire breathed out in shock.

Lucy gulped and trembled at the sight. "D-Deliora is..."

"Free..." Gray finished with anger in his voice. His whole body shook with as a mixture of various emotions clashed inside him.

Deliora took a deep breath; the demon lifted its head and roared. An echoing howl which was heard from miles and miles away. Shock waves of sound forced everyone to cover their faces as its sheer force picked up great gusts of winds and sent dust flying everywhere.

"Deliora" Lyon said with fanatical glee. "Today you meet your end!"

XxX ~ on the sea ~ XxX

A single pirate ship approached Galuna Island. While normally not even pirates would dare to go there, they had been forced by a particularly strong and terrifying woman.

Said woman, a scarlet haired beauty clad in armor, was looking at the island in the distance with as much terror as she had previously installed on the pirates.

"That power..." She whispered with wide eyes. "What is going on?" She had been sent to bring them back and reprimand them for breaking the Guild's rule... but just what the hell had her friends gotten into?

Acting on instinct, the Scarlet ran towards the bow of the ship, ignoring the pirate captain's shout of surprise as she jumped. Light engulfed her body in mid-air, discarding her usual armor and donning her flying gear. With a great bout of speed, she made haste towards the island; her friends were in dire need of help...

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

_'This thing..._' Yuuka mentally muttered in terror. _'Is beyond our power to stop..._'

Sherry shivered in absolute terror as she hid behind the blue haired man. Toby cowered on his knees as he held onto one of Sherry's leg. _'I want to go home...'_

Both Natsu and Naruto stood in front of Lucy who shook with terror along with Happy. "H... How do we stop something like that?"

Lyon clinched his fists; "I can. I will slay it and surpass Ur!" He charged before Gray could stop him.

Inside Naruto, the old fox chuckled darkly.

"Lyon don't!" The ice mage of Fairy Tail shouted after him, but it was to no avail.

Lyon smirked widely as he run towards the demon, the great beast barely paid any attention to him, seemingly content with first observing its surroundings.

"It's the end Deliora!" He shouted as he raised one hand, magical power gathering in droves, manifesting as icy mist around it, it grew so dense it began flowing in torrents all around him. "Watch me, Ur, as I prove just how better than you I am!" His cloak flapped with the sheer waves of energy created by his magic, he thrusted his hand forward in a swift motion, ice formed out of thin air to create a great beast made out of the pure element.

Its body was long and serpentine, the ice made patters in the shape of scales all over it, a large snout with long sharp fangs stood at the center, while from its head sprouted two stubbed horns. It grew in size with every second, until its overall length surpassed Deliora in size.

"**Ice Make**!" Lyon shouted. "**DRAGON**!"

The ice beast roared and charged at the demon. Deliora did not move; it did not even react as the serpentine creature began encircling him, tightening its body of frozen water against the demon's flesh. It spun around the demon until only the head remained free. The dragon moved through the air before dive-bombing directly at Deliora with a savage roar.

The moment the dragon's head collided with the demon, there was a flash of great light, and a release of frozen energies so cold they immediately began freezing all over the terrain. The Fairies and Lyon's followers gasped as they shielded their faces from the blast.

After a few seconds, it settled. And everyone was able to observe with wide eyes as Deliora was now coated in a thick layer of ice, not unlike how it had been trapped before in Iced Shell.

"Hah..." Lyon let out a laugh. "Hahahaha-HAHAHAHA!" He threw his head back as he laughed with zealous glee. "Do you see Ur?! I'm stronger than you! I defeated Deliora while you yourself couldn't! HAHAHAHA!"

"He..." Sherry muttered, tears running down her eyes. "He did it..."

Toby and Yuuka gasped, the heavy feeling of doom lifted from their shoulders.

The Fairies looked on astounded.

"He... He actually did it" Lucy whispered in awe.

"No"

She turned to Gray to find his face was still twisted with dread. Looking around she saw the rest of her friends looking at the now frozen demon with severity.

"Deliora's still alive" Naruto said grimly.

Lyon only continued laughed, overjoyed at finally having fulfilled his dream, having proved himself to be Ur's superior. At long last he could continue dreaming once more.

He did not notice how the ice around Deliora was cracking.

Dread soon returned to Sherry, Yuuka, and Toby as Lyon finally froze in shock as Deliora shattered his ice with a mighty roar. "Impossible..." The ice mage muttered in pure disbelief.

Gazing downward, Deliora only glared with annoyance at the insect that tried to freeze him. No one could move in time as the large demon lifted his arm and struck Lyon with a powerful backhand.

The silver haired ice mage was thrown away with a tremendous force. His body collided with the ground on multiple occasions, but it did little to stop his momentum, he carved a path on the ground as rock and earth had torn his clothes apart, cutting into his skin and severely pounding his flesh.

He finally collided against a large solid rock, creating a cloud of dust and dirt. As it settled it revealed a heavily bruised and bleeding Lyon, his mouth gasped in a silent scream as pain assaulted every single part of his body. His clothes were in tatters, barely clinging to his chest, blood flowed from various wounds, mixing with dirt over the dark swollen parts of his body.

"Lyon!" Gray shouted with concern as he ran towards him.

Deliora opened its maw, a sphere of magic gathered as he prepared to fire and annihilate those pests.

"Gray watch out!" Lucy called to him as they saw Deliora aiming at them.

The ice mage turned sharply, letting out a startled; "What?!"

The great demon thrusted his head forward to fire his attack, when suddenly a full powered Rasengan hit his cheek. Naruto slammed the attack with all his strength into the demon's face, allowing the blonde to partially move his face and mess up with his aim.

The attack still fired, missing the ice mages by a few dozen feet. It traveled all over the terrain and even left the boundaries of the island, going over the sea. A miles long red line was left on the scorched ground, when it suddenly erupted hundreds of feet in the air in the form a violent inferno.

Starlight arrows tore into Deliora's flesh as Claire also tried to stop the monstrous demon. The great demon growled as he tried to swat away Naruto, who was thankfully limber enough to leap away undamaged.

"**Fire Dragon**!" Breathed in as much air as he could. "**ROAR**!" The dragon slayer unleashed as gigantic stream of fire at the demon.

"Keep him busy!" Naruto yelled as he went through least a dozen hand seals.

Several clones burst into existence in clouds of smoke, they immediately split up, half of them running around the demon and taking position at different points around the beast, where like the original they began doing several hand signs as well. Were the other half began attacking the demon from all sides.

Natsu's roar collided with the demon's head. The resulting explosion of creating a dense smoke cloud around its face. An earth-shaking roar quickly dissipated the smoke, showing Deliora's rage filled visage.

It gathered energy on its maw once more, seeking to incinerate the pests. When suddenly a starlight arrow hit him square in the eye and exploded with blue light. The energy fizzled and collapsed upon itself as Deliora placed a claw atop his eye while he roared in pain.

A couple of Naruto's clones climbed above the demon's back, and jumped over its face now that it was distracted, each of them creating a Rasengan. Their faces twisted in shock when Deliora quickly recovered, his eye seemingly okay. The demon, with tremendous speed and force, squashed the two clones together with his claws like one would a fly.

XxX ~ Not far from the battle ~ XxX

"Magnificent" Ultear chuckled with amusement as she observed the ongoing conflict. Hidden atop the temple's ruins not far from there. "Deliora is just as I expected him to be" She said as softly ran her fingers over the gem in her grasp. "I should just return to Master Hades and inform him about this precious finding" Ultear muttered to herself as she observed the shining crystal, its light was ever so enticing. "But... I want to keep on to it for a bit longer" She added as she licked her lips, the crystal's energy was just so intoxicating... "Besides, I want to see as Deliora crushes them"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

'_...Don't know how long this will hold that son of bitch... But at least it'll give us some time to catch our breath and figure out a plan,_' Naruto thought to himself.

"**The fact your brain can actually process that high compared to the idiot you once were**," the Kyuubi scoffed.

_'NOT HELPING!'_

The four clones around Deliora finished their hand seals along with Naruto as they slam their hands to the ground. Shining kanji shined around their palms in a circle, the lettering extended towards the other focal points of the sealing matrix, creating a circle of kanji. The lines of kanji shot towards the demon, meeting in a single point right underneath him. The lettering shone with more intensity.

Deliora roared as the letters of the seal began to climb over his body, feeling as though the symbols themselves were pulling like chains, binding him in place. He struggled, his body shook as the invisible chains created by the seal pulled him harder.

_**Fūin!**_

Finally the demon fell to its knees as the kanji words wrapped around his body, and pointed its head up to sky. Deliora only roared in defiance as Naruto glared; "Yeah well fuck you too!" The blond looked over to the others; "We regroup for now!" he ordered.

Gray grunted as he adjusted Lyon's immobile figure over his back and ran back towards his friends. He took notice of the trio of Lyon's followers now able to move once more, Naruto apparently having lifted the seal from them, they approached their fallen leader worriedly

Yuuka looked at him with concern. "Is he-?"

"He's alive" Gray answered. "Badly wounded, but alive"

"Come on!" Claire waved a hand at them. "We have to regroup at the village!"

"To hell with that!" Natsu shouted. "I wanna fight this thing-URK!" He grunted when Naruto swiftly decked him on the back of his head and proceeded to carry him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"We don't have time for that!" The blond exclaimed.

Gray gave the struggling demon a fierce look; he could take action right here and now and cast Iced Shell... But Lyon was gravely wounded, and despite everything he had done, Lyon was still a fellow student. He need to make sure he'd be alright.

The ice mage of Fairy Tail let frustrated snarl. "Damn it... You three!" He shouted at the trio of Lyon's companions. "You can either stay here with that thing or you come with us, but don't try anything!"

Sherry nodded rapidly while Toby saluted like a soldier; "You're the boss, boss!" Yuuka sighed but said nothing as they followed the Fairy Tail crew. Running beside Naruto, after she dispelled Taurus, Lucy looked to her fellow blond; "What did you do?"

"A demon binding seal. Something my clan created," Naruto looked back. "Not sure how long it will hold, but at least we can put our heads together for round 2."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Nearing village, the villagers lifted the gate; "What happened? We heard a roar, and that light..!"

Lucy tried to explain the situation as calm as possible. "There's a big demon on the loose!" She screeched.

"A demon?!"

"Oh no!"

The people quickly panicked as they loudly discussed what they should do. Many of them broke down into hysterics.

"As if the curse wasn't bad enough, now a real demon is going to kill us all!"

Claire gave the Celestial Mage a dry look. "Way to go Luce..."

"Sorry, I panicked!" The blonde quickly apologies.

"Though I have to admit" The elf whispered. "Them worrying about demons is a bit funny"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Okay people calm down!" He shouted as loudly as he could. Succeeding in at least calming a good majority of them "It's bound for now; we promise we'll take care of it!"

Elder Mocha approached them fearfully. "Y-You are?"

"Yes, just leave it to us" He smiled at them, trying to project confidence, these people needed it.

"I have a wounded man with me" Gray quickly says, approaching the people. "He needs help"

"O-Oh yes" Mocha nodded, a bead of sweat rolling down his head. "Just let out healers take care of him"

Carefully, the dark haired ice mage handed them the wounded and unconscious form of his fellow student. He watched as they disappeared inside one of the houses where he would most likely be treated.

He couldn't believe this was really happening. Deliora free, Lyon having been responsible for and now nearly died as a result. He knew Deliora's binding was only temporary, and if they did not stop him, then the village would be next on his long list of rampages... He clenched his fist with anger and determination, swearing to himself he would put an end to this before Deliora could hurt any more innocent people.

"Hey" The voice of the Dragon Slayers snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to see Natsu looking at him with his arms crossed and a serious look on his eyes. "You okay?" Gray understood the Dragon Slayer was worried for him. If the roles were reversed he'd be worried for Natsu as well. But the two of them were too stubborn and proud to openly admit it.

Ugh, the thought of him and Natsu sharing something in common...

"I'll be fine" He lied.

Natsu grunted.

"Oh by the way" Elder Mocha addressed them. "A newcomer arrived recently. She's from your guild"

"From the guild?" Happy tilts his head in confusion.

From amidst the crowd of people stepped forth a figure they recognized immediately, wearing a set of armor over shirtless blouse and a skirt, her scarlet red hair and imposing presence stood out greatly from among the shapeshifting demons.

"Erza?" Naruto voiced in confusion. He quickly smiled alongside the others, happy to see their friend here in this difficult time.

"Erza!" They ran towards her, their joy at seeing her preventing them from noticing the dark glare in her eyes.

Next thing they knew, they were all on the ground with big bumps on their heads and stars circling right before their eyes.

"What in blazes were you all thinking?!" The Scarlet's enraged voice caused many of the islanders to back away. "Breaking the Guild's rules like that! And you!" She lifted still stunned Naruto by the collar of his shirt, he groaned as the world was still spinning. "You were sent to get them back and you ended up going along with their ridiculous schemes!"

"S-Sorry Erza..." He muttered. "B-But these people needed help..."

"I don't care!" She leaned closer and whispered dangerously. "Just what is going here?"

"Deliora," Erza looked over to a blue haired man who looked at her grimly. "The demon Deliora of Zeref. It was revived and went on a rampaged nearly killed our leader. I am Yuuka, this is Sherry and that's Toby." The dog man barks.

Claire sat on the ground as she shook her head; "The three stooges here and their boss thought it be a brilliant idea to wake him up."

"...Alright then" She let's go of Naruto, who falls to the ground with an 'Uff!' And proceeds to walk towards the trio while cracking her knuckles. "Now I know who to punish too"

The trio trembled and gulped before the terrifying presence of the red haired woman.

"Yeah, kick their asses!" Claire cheered before leaning close to Lucy and whispering. "She so hot when she's angry..."

"And don't you morons think are safe from me yet!" Erza shouted at the Fairies.

"Ohhhh honey, I can't wait for tasting your brand of 'discipline'" The elf replied huskily.

Erza, too weirded out by the comment, stopped in her tracks. "...I think you learnt your lesson Claire, no need to punish you"

The elf only whined as Naruto got back up; "So yeah, we need to come up with a plan and stop Deliora."

Lucy nodded while holding Happy in her arms; "We have to protect the people of the village." An 'Aye sir' came from the blue feline.

"We are heading home." Erza said darkly. Stunning the villagers and her friends. "You violated our guild's rules. You must face the master be punished for your actions."

"What?" Naruto said slowly as he walked over looking his friend in the eyes.

"I came to bring you back and nothing else"

"Erza you can't be serious!" The jinchuuriki could not believe what he was hearing, in all the time he's known Erza... "Look at this people!" He waved a hand at the islanders. "They need our help, Deliora is loose!"

"This is precisely why we must go home!" She finally snapped at the blonde. "Deliora is a monster on a completely different level the Lullaby! You face this creature, you might die!"

"Oh, so we weren't in danger when facing a demon that can kill people with a song?" Natsu snorted sarcastically.

"We can't just leave the people to fend for themselves" Lucy added, stunned at the knight's cold disregard for the islanders.

"Erza they WILL die if we don't do anything" Naruto seethed through clenched teeth.

"Don't ask me to put the lives of others before the lives of the people of our Guild" Erza responded in kind. "Because you know I will ALWAYS choose the Guild"

They continue to stare off, the intensity between them felt nearly overwhelming for the people around them. Many of the villagers were already succumbing to fear, believing there was no hope in sight if the only people that ever decided to help them would just leave. Mocha was already crying in despair, mourning for his people as they would all share his son's fate.

"I'm not going anywhere" Everyone looked at Gray in surprise. His gaze was resolute and his voice strong. "I'm staying here, and I'm going to fight Deliora"

"Gray..." The Titania grunted.

"We too!" Natsu slammed his flaming fists together. "Ain't that right happy?!"

"Aye sir!"

"M-Me too" Lucy tried to show courage before the strongest woman of the Guild, and it would have worked better if not for the fact that her knees shook like crazy. "I'm staying too"

Claire ran a hand through her raven locks; green eyes shining with mirth a she flashed an apologetic smile at the red haired woman. "Sorry Erza, got my reasons to help too"

Naruto crossed his arms and smirked at the Scarlet. "You wanna go back, go ahead, we ain't stopping you. But we're gonna stay here and beat Deliora"

Sherry, Toby and Yuuka could only stare in shock at the sheer resolution of the Fairies. Lyon had been bested like he was nothing; they had all witnessed Deliora's great power. Not even they, who have lost family and friends to Deliora, could muster the courage to do the same, not after what they witnessed. Yet these people were so willing to face the demon and stop it...

The villagers looked at the people from Fairy Tail with tear-filled eyes which shone with gratitude. They felt hope fill their hearts once more, making them believe that perhaps there was a better tomorrow for their village.

Erza gave each of her guild mates a look, before grunting in resignation. "Fine... If you're so intent on doing something stupid then I better stay too to make sure you don't get yourselves killed"

Naruto smiled brightly at her. "I knew you'd come around"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The Fairies entered the house they had been granted before to rest and organize themselves. Deliora's binding wouldn't last forever, but they couldn't barge in without a plan.

Claire had her own two cents to throw. "As we might die when facing the demon, I propose we make most of the time we have left"

Their eyes widened like plates she began to remove her clothing. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"They are called orgies, good for relaxing!"

Gray went red and looked away. "I'LL RELAX WHEN DELIORA IS DEAD!" Naruto blushed storm as some blood dripped from his nose seeing how Claire already had her corset off. Of course she never wore a bra... The blond's ogling stopped by a slap courtesy from Lucy.

"Thank you" He muttered as he rubbed his sore cheek.

"You're welcome"

"And you" Erza said sternly. "Enough with the foolishness"

"Fine, fine, geez. Blame the elf for trying to lighten the mood with a bit of humor" Nobody choose to mention she had a gone a tad too far for her 'humor'. "Honestly, you people could use the advice from an elf, it never fails you"

"From what I heard about the elves" Lucy states dryly. "You are the complete opposite of how they usually act"

"Okay, you got me there"

Gray shook off the blush while Claire put her corset back on; "Can we focus on what we need to do? Naruto's seal won't hold Deliora forever, and we need to stop it before it hurts anyone."

'_How many tails would I need to stop that thing,' _Naruto asked the Kyuubi.

The old fox snorted **"Three... That is if you're actually willing to tell your 'friends' about me."**

_'With the circumstances, I'm actually willing'_ He wasn't going to put innocent people at risk just because of his own personal issues.

"**Well it wouldn't be of much use to you anyway**" The fox replied. "**Cause I ain't helping you**"

_'...What?'_

**"I'm curious to see how you handle something like this without my help for once"**

The blond Uzumaki was about to yell at the Bijuu king. But chose to think for moment. _'Alright... You're on furball.'_ He focused back to his friends as they were speaking.

"A combined effort sounds like the only way," Lucy gazed worriedly at her friends.

The elf of group gave a hapless shrug; "It'd have to be one hell of an attack."

The Celestial mage lowers her gaze as if ashamed. "I'm... afraid I won't be of much help. I don't really know any strong spells, and my spirits aren't strong enough to be of much use for this..." Deliora was far stronger than anything they have faced so far. She knew she would only get in the way.

"True" Claire states. "It'd be too risky for you"

A dark cloud of depression looms over Lucy's head.

"Nice going Claire" Naruto reprimands her.

"Oh don't tell me you think Lucy should be there in the front lines?"

Naruto did not answer.

"But that is not to say you can't help Lucy" The elf stressed in a rare moment of seriousness, her eyes were narrowed and held a calculating look. It was so out of character for her it actually freaked the fairies out for a moment. "There is something WE can do"

Lucy was slightly taken aback by the elf's level of seriousness as she meekly said; "Okay..."

XxX ~ thirty minutes later ~ XxX

Naruto, Erza, Claire, and Lucy left the house, ready for the fight; "Are we all clear on what to do?" Erza spoke.

"Yep, we got it," Both blonds nodded.

"We have to be as relentless as we can on Deliora, otherwise it won't work," the elf among them still freaked them out in how serious she was actually acting.

On Naruto's shoulder, Happy looked around; "Where are Natsu and Gray?"

The answer came from seeing the ice mage busting through the wall of the house and into another one. "YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU DO SOMETHING THAT STUPID!" Natsu's enraged voice echoed the whole village.

The four let out a collective groan and face palmed. "You know, they're antics are fun to watch..." Claire muttered. "But it gets old after a while"

"You have no idea" Erza deadpanned.

"We better make sure they don't kill each other" Naruto couldn't intone those words with less enthusiasm even if he tried. "Again"

The quickly went back inside the house to found Gray wiping the blood from running from the corner of his lips as he walked back in. He snarled at the Dragon Slayer who snarled back. "Out of my way Natsu, this is something I have to do!"

"Yeah killing yourself Iced Shell is just SO necessary" Natsu said dryly.

"What?!" The rest of the Fairies shouted in surprise, all except Erza who kept a serious frown.

"Iced Shell..." The Scarlet repeated with severity. "I've heard about that technique. Gray, you..."

"What the hell are you thinking man?!" Naruto shouted, quickly losing his composure. "You yourself said it, using that technique will-!"

"I know!" The ice mage shouted, his voice echoing over the village. His breathing became ragged, his features adopting a determined yet resigned look. "I know..." He whispered this time. "But I have to do it. It's the only way-"

"The hell it is!" Natsu screamed in anger. The dragon slayer grabbed the collar of Gray's shirt; "You don't cop out of this. All of us together will bring that bastard down."

"The only way to stop Deliora is with Ice shell, there is no choice. As Ur's Student I have to do this!" Gray yelled back.

A deep frown crossed Claire's features as her bang hid her eyes; "Ur wanted you to live, not kill yourself." Slowly lifting her head her green eyes showed nothing but cold fury. "Ur gave her life for yours, meaning you live your life for her. Only a coward runs away from that responsibility."

"I am not running away!" The ice mage glared. "I choose to lay down my life so Deliora doesn't harm anymore people. How is that running away?!" He shook himself away from Natsu grip. "Deliora destroyed my home, killed my parents, and brought dead and destruction to countless others!" His teeth clenched and his hands tightened into him, old rage and pain surging through. "If I have to die so that monster doesn't bring more pain, then so be it!"

"And what about us?!" It was Erza who shouted.

Gray gasped and looked at her in shock.

"Don't you care about the pain your death will bring us?!"

Lucy could not even stop her tears as her body shook; "Does any of us from guild mean anything to you?"

"...I am not seeing anyone else I care about getting buried." Naruto said with finality.

Gray look at them stunned, a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. He could see in each of their faces fear mixed with pain and sadness. He gasped softly as the mere sight of it. He knew those feelings all too well, the same feelings that had plagued him for so long.

He had been lost, years ago, in his own misery he hadn't known how to move on. He just kept looking for a way to save Ur, to make things right, but when he did not found he nearly drowned in his own pain. The past was lost, and there seemed to be no future for him.

Until a kind old man invited him to his Guild, and all sorts of maniacs and annoying people welcomed him as family.

He had truly been able to live up the life Ur wanted for him with Fairy Tail. He had become happy once more thanks to them… He didn't think his death would hurt them so much…

Slowly, Gray sighed as he ran a hand through his hair; "Alright... No Iced Shell... We stop Deliora together."

Naruto beamed at him and slapped him on the back. "Damn right we are!" His friends smiled at the ice mage as well as offered words of encouragement.

"Yeah!" Natsu slammed a fist on his palm. "We're gonna kick some demon butt and then we're going to blow up the moon!"

"Did you forget that's NOT the reason problem with the island?!" Lucy screeched at the Dragon Slayer.

"You've... You've got to be kidding me..." A strained voice said.

The Fairies turned in surprise to see Lyon, his torso nearly completely covered in bandages, walking with great difficulty. He was supported by his companions who looked at him with concern.

"Lyon, what are you doing?" Gray said; his voice laced with concern. "You should be resting"

"Deliora... is too powerful. He would kill all of you in an instant." They heard the despair in his voice.

"You never know till you try," Naruto shrugged. "And besides, unlike last time. Gray has us backing him. I like our chances dattebayo."

His words seemed to enrage the silver haired mage. "Ur couldn't defeat him!" He shouted, ignoring the stinging pain surging from the sides of his body that came from his loud words. "She-She was the strongest person we knew! She was amazing!" His began to swell up with tears. "And yet she... I spent so long trying to surpass her" He sobbed, openly weeping now. "For so many years that was my only dream. But I couldn't defeat Deliora!" He squeezed his eyes shut, tears running down his eyes in torrents. "I was a damned idiot thinking there could ever be anyone greater than" Lyon sent a piercing glare at the Fairies. "If she couldn't beat Deliora, what makes you think someone like you will, Gray!"

The ice mage's eyes were shadowed by the bangs of his dark hair; he remained silent for a moment. When he finally lifted his head, it was to show Lyon the determination on his eyes.

"I don't give a damn about that"

Lyon gasped softly.

"Stronger than Ur, weaker then Ur. I don't care" Gray stated sternly. "I ain't doing this to prove anything" He walks towards the silver haired ice mage until they are standing face to face. Lyon's stupefied eyes looking straight into Gray's steely gaze. "What I care about is stopping Deliora before he harms anything else. I'll honor our master's will by finally ending this monster" He smiles softly as he casts a look at his guild mates. "Unlike Ur, I won't be alone in this"

The silver haired ice mage could only stare in shock at his former fellow student. He didn't know where he got this sheer willpower to carry forward in the face of such overwhelming odds.

"Ur didn't want you living like this Lyon. She wanted something better for us, that we could find our own paths and live plenty and happy lives" He turned and walked back to his guild mates. "You already got people willing to stay at your side, that's a step in the right direction"

He stopped look at the purple moon for a moment. Gray took a deep breath and continued walking. "Come on guys, let's end this"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Running back up the path, the Fairy crew got ready for the showdown against another demon of Zeref. Gray turned his eyes to Naruto; "That senjutsu thing will come in handy."

"Already have that covered," the blond lifts the sleeve of his left arm showing the seal; "Have enough nature chakra to use it."

They heard an earth trembling roar, and see the demon struggling still against the bindings of kanji. The shining seals shimmered and some even began to break like glass.

"He's bursting through the seal" Naruto announced in alarm.

"Remember" Erza said in a strong commanding voice as she summoned her Heaven's Wheel armor. "We need to buy Claire and Lucy enough time!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Not far from there, the two Fairy girls stood upon a hilltop, they had a good view of the terrain where their friends stood, and they saw the demon breaking loose, power flowing around it like a black poisonous miasma.

"Okay, let's do this Lucy" The elf said.

"I-I've never done this before" The Celestial Mage said hesitantly. If they messed up then their friends would die.

"I know it's your first time. Don't worry, just look at me and all will be okay, I promise I'll be gentle"

Lucy gave dry glare at the elf who sweatdrops; "Should have said that differently?"

"Yes you perv."

Claire just rolled her eyes; "We need physical contact to help concentrate our magic to combine as one and create a Unison Raid."

The glare intensified.

"Hey I swear this is necessary!" She held up her left arm to the side. "Hold my hand"

"Fine..." Lucy sighed. She did so, and by their posture they sort of looked they were about to waltz.

"Now we get closer" The taller woman suddenly grabbed Lucy's head and placed her on her chest.

The blonde's eye twitched dangerously. "I'm starting to question the veracity of this method..."

"Hey, who's the nearly five hundred year old elf here?"

Lucy grumbled.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

With another monstrous roar, Deliora shattered the seal as it rose to its feet. "**Fire dragon roar**!" Dragon fire slammed into its chest which made the mighty demon stumble backwards. "Let's go!" Natsu roared.

They wasted no time, against this opponent they had to go all out. Erza dashed forward with great speed and mobility provided by her Heaven's Wheel armor as her feet lightly hovered above the ground. She equipped two long swords and chanted. "**Blumenblatt**!" Over fifty swords materialized with shimmering light all around her, they followed her wherever she moved.

Erza spun and slashed at the demon's talons, passing right beneath its legs, her attacks left only the barest of wounds. The swords launched at great speed at the general area where she stroke, many of the blades bounced off its thick hide, while a few managed to pierce and bury themselves in the flesh.

A pained roar ripped from Deliora as he only glared at the human with rage.

_**Ōdama Rasengan**_!

With Senjutsu now active, Naruto also applied the pressure as he struck the giant version of his Rasengan into Deliora's already wounded knee.

Deliora roared, light shone in huge bursts and wind picked up in strength, originating from Naruto's attack. The demon's leg buckled and fell to one knee. Naruto was forced to jump back when a giant claw swiped at him, tearing pieces of ground on its path.

Naruto skidded along the ground, forcing himself to a stop with his hand on earth. He looked up and his eyes widened when he saw a sphere of dark magic forming on the demon's hand, aimed directly at him.

The sage ducked as the sphere flew right over him; its blast obliterated a hill, causing the earth to tremble.

_'Holy shit..._' Naruto looked wide eyed at the destruction. The Kyuubi remained silent as he simply watched his container quietly with hardened eyes.

"Naruto move!" Erza's scream woke him from his shock to barely dodge the demon's massive claws he knew even Senjutsu could hurt him bad.

"**Ice Make**!" Gray chanted, forming a pristine and masterfully crafted bow made completely out of ice. He notched an arrow of pure shining blue magic and aimed. "**Destruction Bow**!" He let loose the shot, the speed was such it created a burst of air on its wake.

The projectile traveled directly at the demon's claw which was still on the ground. It impacted with a burst of light, spraying shards of frost and ice everywhere. When it settled, the demon's hand was shown to be encased in a great block of ice.

"Now Erza!" The ice mage prompted urgently.

The Titania flew directly towards the frozen limb before the demon could shatter the ice. She lifted her hands over her head and conjured a weapon. Out of the shimmer of a light formed a great sword. But to call it such was like calling a kitchen knife a sword. Its size was absolutely gigantic, easily being four times larger than Erza herself. Dark metal with intricate carvings at the tip, its handle was so great the Scarlet had to while it with the entirety of her arms.

"Seeeeei!" The Titania let out a valiant war cry as she slammed the blade down; its cutting power combined with its sheer weight was enough to completely cut through the demon's hide, severing muscles, tendons and bone, severing the frozen hand from the waist.

Deliora roared in agony as he trashed about, dark blood flowed in torrents from the wound.

Erza let out a sigh as she dismissed the blade. "Nice!" Naruto smirked triumphantly at her. "He's tough as hell, but at least we can harm-!"

Suddenly, the flowing blood gathered and took shape, resembling the lost claw. Muscle tissue began forming as the blood coalesced, bones reforming underneath, soon followed by hide. In but the span of a few seconds the limb had regrown completely.

"...Oh you have to be fucking kidding me"

Even Erza was stunned, and did not hear her comrades as the demon struck her with its newly regenerated fist. Blood and air escaped the scarlet knight's lips as she was sent flying hard into a boulder. Parts of her armor was broken, the force of the hit left her in a crater.

"Erza!" Naruto shouted in fright.

A dark scowl formed on the Dragon Slayer's brow "You bastard!" Natsu bellowed from the fair, Happy flew him over far above the demon's head. "It's Erza who beats people, not the other way around!" He tightened his until a few bones popped, the muscles on his arms tensed as veins bulged. His fist shrouded in blames so hot they could melt metal. "Drop me Happy!"

"Aye sir!" The flying cat sky dived and let go of Natsu, the velocity adding to the strength of the pink haired boy's attack.

"**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist**!" The Dragon Slayer shouted as he slammed his fist directly atop Deliora's head. Waves of fire surged like a flowing inferno, as the demon grunted, his jaw snapped shut by the sudden force. "Haah!" Natsu applied even more force to his punch, making the fire erupt like a volcano. The demon slowly bent over from the weight of the attack.

Suddenly, a claw reached up, and faster than what Natsu could react, snatched him from atop the demon's head. Natsu struggled as he was brought before the demon's face.

Deliora squeezed.

His eyes widening and Natsu gasped in agony, letting blood curling cry of pain.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Natsu!" Lucy cried in terror at the sight of her friend in such pain.

"Lucy we need to focus!" Claire pleaded to the Celestial Mage. "We have to keep charging the spell!"

The Celestial mage grimaced, feeling hopeless while her friends were fighting and getting hurt. But she quickly reminded herself what she was doing was necessary if they wanted to defeat that monster.

In their joined hands they now held a blue bow of light, not unlike those Claire conjured out of starlight. But while those held a rather simplistic design, this bow was a huge thing of outstanding design, taking on a nearly solid state; intricate markings could be seen around the shaft and the edges of the weapon. They were drawing a shining arrow of pure celestial energy.

Spots of light danced around them, taking on patters resembling constellations, a sea of starlight which revolved like a galaxy.

This Unison Raid was a technique designed to gather the pure sacred power of the stars and unleash a technique of such holy element that it could destroy most evil beings, including demons, as the elf had told her. Claire said Lucy's help was integral, as a Celestial Mage, she was able to draw the power from the stars and the cosmos, mixing in with Claire's own innate elf abilities to draw upon the same kind of energies for her magic. The result would be a powerful spell that would herald Deliora's destruction.

They just needed to keep charging the technique until it was ready. And pray the others could hold on...

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Deliora only gave a savage smile as Natsu let out another scream of agony as he squeezed tighter. The demon was about to laugh till a massive sledge hammer of ice hit him directly in the chest. The force was enough to rock Deliora back and drop Natsu who fell on the ground like a heap.

"If you die on me now you son of bitch, I will drag your sorry ass out of hell and kick it myself!" Gray bellowed besides the fallen Dragon Slayer who only gave the ice mage the finger.

Deliora hold his ground, regaining his balance. He was about to charge but stopped, realizing he couldn't move. He gazed back to his tail seeing the blond flea that had sealed him holding his tail with his bare hands. The demon's eyes actually widened as Naruto roared, lifting the demon into the air and slamming him hard into the ground which formed a crater.

"That was for Erza!" Naruto ran up the fallen demon's chest forming a Ōdama rasengan; "And this is Natsu!"

Deliora quickly raised his head firing a beam of energy that slammed into Naruto's jutsu.

The beam splintered into many directions as trails of energy washed over the great sphere in a great spectacle of light that illuminated the night sky. Naruto grit his teeth and planted his feet on the demon's body firmly. The pressure behind the demon's attack was such that was slowly being pushed back. He took a step forward, albeit with great difficulty, it was like trying to push an unrelenting tide from the sea.

He kept pushing forward.

He tried to hold on as long as he could, one step after another, but the demon would not relent either. Naruto could feel his Rasengan weakening. Seeing no choice, he summoned a clone with a single handsign, the momentary action distracting him enough that he was pushed a few feet away.

The clone, having been summoned behind him, jumped away to a safe distance. When he was far enough, Naruto performed a substitution. He and the clone swapped place, just when his Rasengan was about to collapse. Deliora's blast obliterated the clone and carried on its path, scorching the earth and leaving the boundaries of the island, cleaving a path through the ocean's waves.

Naruto panted as he saw the demon rise up once more. "Damn this guy is really tough..."

"**Hehehe**" The fox chuckled. "**It's not so easy when you don't have me to solve all your problems, now is it?**"

Naruto spat on the ground, making his feelings on his words clear. _'Don't underestimate Fairy Tail'_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Ultear laughed from her spot atop the temple, watching Deliora tear through them was such an entertaining sight. Though she wondered where the elf and the blonde bimbo could be, she couldn't see them anywhere.

"No matter" She said, holding unto the crystal tightly. "Soon Deliora will kill them all. Such a shame and here I was hoping to capture you and give to Master Hades, Naruto-kun" She sighed. "Oh well, he'll have to settle for your corpse" She smiled cruelly. "Keep fighting all you want, you'll soon see it's all..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Useless" Lyon grunted. He and his companions were standing at the edge of the forest, watching the battle from a safe distance. Gray swore they would kill Deliora, but so far the demon was tearing through them like they were nothing. "Why can't they see it's useless?"

"Lyon..." Sherry spoke softly.

"D-Damn it!" He cried. "I did this, I released Deliora, and for what?" Tears spilled from his eyes. "To send all these people to their graves!" He hanged his head in shame. "Forgive me; Ur... your student was a weak minded fool..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Almost there Lucy" The elf assured her companion. "Almost there..."

"Hang on guys. Please..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

He had seen plenty of battles such as this, in eras long by. A monster spreading chaos and pain, and the heart of brave heroes standing up against it.

The white fox with golden tribal markings sat atop a hill, observing the events that have unfolded. He had followed them across the sea, once more guided by his instincts. He could feel his path tied to these people, even their proper meeting was yet to bear in the near future.

This demon was a formidable opponent for these youngsters, yet they refused to give up. Admirable. They reminded him of many great heroes he had met in his long life.

Casting a glance to another hill, he saw the elf and the human readying their spell. A technique which gathered the holy essence of the stars. Yes, such sacred power would no doubt help them defeat this creature.

So for now, the fox merely observed. If he did not believe in these brave warriors would succeed, he would have already stepped in and dealt with the beast. But he needed to see, to witness their hearts and their will till the end.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Gray panted, Natsu had an arm around his shoulder as the former helped him up. Slowly, Erza walked towards them, her frame beaten and bloodied, the wings of her armor and other parts had been broken. Naruto stood by their side once more.

Deliora looked at them with a tilt of its head; a dark chuckle came from its throat.

"Bastard..." Natsu grunted as he stood up on his own. "We ain't gonna let him leave this island"

"Well who laughs last laughs best I say" Naruto said, rolling his neck.

The Scarlet brandished a new sword "We won't let this monster beat us this day"

Gray took a step forward, a fearless look in his eyes. He stood before the monster that had haunted his nightmares and felt nothing but determination, an unstoppable will to stop the creature so it would never hurt anyone ever again.

"You may be strong, Deliora" He said. "But you've NOTHING on Fairy Tail!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The arrow in their bows shimmered like a newborn star.

"It's ready!" Claire announced.

"Guys!" Lucy shouted as loudly as her vocal cords could allow. "We're ready! So hit that monster..." She took a deep breath. "WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!"

Erza roared as her body was illuminated; black spiked armor soon covered her body as she now held a massive black spike mace and charged. Naruto quickly made a fire jutsu that Natsu happily devoured, restoring his strength.

Gray charged with ice building around his hands.

Deliora roared and ran towards them, it was time to squash them as the fleas they were.

"**Ice Make**" Gray chanted before slamming his hands on the ground. "**Floor**!"

The ground was frozen solid, and Deliora's talon nearly slipped, he skidded across the ice as he tried to regain some semblance of balance.

"Yaaah!" The Scarlet bellowed as she swung her mace while she skated over the ice with ease, hitting the demon's right leg, causing him to stumble and fall.

The demon fell to the ground on all fours, raising his head he saw the other two humans charging their attacks. Naruto held a great sphere of wind with four shuriken-like blades spinning around it. Natsu took a deep breath as gusts of flames escaped his lips. The demon tried to quickly form one of his energy blasts to counter them, but the humans proved themselves faster.

_**Futon: Rasenshuriken!**_

**Fire Dragon's Roar**!

The two attacks were launched at the same time; the wind pulled the flames towards it, shrouding itself with the fire. The fire in turn was fed by the wind, growing stronger, hotter, and more powerful by leaps and bounds. The attack became a single spiraling red star of scorching heat.

The technique hit Deliora head on, dispersing the energy gathering on its maw and engulfing the demon in a blast of turbulent flames that instantly melted the ice on the ground, shook the earth, and sent gusts of wind and ruble flying everywhere. Everyone watching looked on in awe at the sheer force of destruction the attack had unleashed.

Yet as the smoke cleared, they saw Deliora still remained, its body horribly burnt and cut, but quickly healing. His body trembled, not with pain, but rage. Pure anger at those mere insects for having wounded him like this.

He let out a roar which carried immense hatred. The time for games was over, he would crush these vermin.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Now Lucy!" Claire commanded.

"Yes!"

They held the bow tightly and pulled the arrow with all their combined strength. The spinning patterns of constellations and galaxies moved with even greater intensity, blue waves of magical energy flowed around them in great torrents.

"**Ilustris Universalis**!" They chanted as once, and let the loose the arrow.

It flew at tremendous speeds, the sheer force sending shock waves and blasts of wind all around them, traversing at speeds phenomenal speeds towards its target.

Everyone present watched in awe as a comet descended upon Deliora.

For a moment, day had dawned early upon Galuna Island in the form of a great blast of blue light which extended towards the heavens.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Ultear stared in shock at the sight. "N-Not possible!" That spell, that sheer holy power..!

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Lyon and his companions gasped. "W-What was that?" Yuuka muttered.

"THE HELL DID THEY DO?!" Toby shouted.

The ice mage remained stupefied, he could only watch as Deliora was consumed by the light

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The ground around them shattered as the fairies were sent airborne by the shock wave from the attack alone. Deliora was engulfed in starlight and holy magic.

"Sorry!" Lucy exclaimed. Yikes, that was the most powerful spell she had ever done...

The team groaned as they tried to stand up. "Well that was fun..." Naruto muttered as he sat down cross legged.

"That was fricking awesome!" Natsu cheered with a big smile on his face. Ahhh, big explosions were one of life's greatest beauties and the solution to many problems.

"Aye!" Happy agreed as he floated next to him.

Erza sighed tiredly as she approached them; she saw Gray standing before the smoking crater. "You think that got him?"

The smoke slowly ceased, allowing them to see a pair of horns first, and then a claw, a talon, soon the entirety of Deliora's kneeling and broken body could be seen. His once blue hide was now gray, cracked in various places like broken stone. The sheer holy energies of the spell had ravaged his body completely, searing the demonic flesh and reducing it to granite like state.

"Not so tough now, huh asshole!" Claire shouted over the distance. Lucy collapsed on her knees in relief.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"They..." Sherry teared up. "They did it..."

"THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT!" Toby jumped around with utmost cheer.

Lyon stared in astonishment. All this time, all these years he dreamt with the moment he would surpass Ur by destroying Deliora. He had been so easily defeated, and would have died if not for the Fairies' help... Gray, who he had blamed for Ur's death, who he believed to be inferior to him, Gray who did not care for surpassing Ur... had destroyed Deliora with the help of his friends.

_'Gray... I think I understand now, what Ur wanted for us..._' Tears rolled down his cheeks. _'You truly were able to achieve... more than I ever did'_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Gray looked over Deliora's body. He should feel happy; he had avenged his parents, Ur, all the people this monster had killed in ruthless cold blood. So why... why did it feel-?

Deliora's body shook.

The ice mage gasped.

The demon let out an earth shaking roar.

"Oh come on!" Natsu shouted, the other stared in shock and horror as the demon rose, pieces of its body began falling apart. "What's it gonna take to kill this guy?!"

Deliora stood from the crater, rage and hate fueling his body. These... these mortals had done what the impossible and managed to wound him beyond his ability to heal and withstand damage. He, who had spread darkness and destruction through many lands, crushing all those feeble humans around him.

And now... now these mongrels had managed to defeat him.

He was Deliora, one of the greater demons of Zeref! He'd never let mongrels like these defeat him!

He charged on last blast of pure raw magic on his maw.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed as they braced for the attack.

Suddenly, to their astonishment, Gray jumped magic power gathering on his hand. Everything seemed to slow down.

On his hands, blue magic took the form of a spear. It solidified into pure ice. The weapon was longer than Gray, magnificent in design, molded after the great legend of a warrior-god whose spear could reach the ends of existence and always hit its target.

"**Ice Make**" Gray shouted, in his hand he held the spirit of his family, his teacher; he carried their will and their hopes in this one last attack. "**GUNGNIR**!"

He threw the spear directly at the demon's face. Upon coming close to his wrathful visage, he immediately began to freeze; the temperatures of the spell were able to quickly overwhelm his weakened body.

The spear pierced through his head, his body immediately froze and crumbled apart. Nothing of Deliora remained but broken shards of ice.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Ultear only looked on in utter shock. They had beaten Deliora. Slowly her teeth gashed as she gripped the gem tightly in her hand. "This is not over," she growled as she vanished into a magic circle.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

On the cliff, the white fox eyed the mortal who held the gem; _'Foolish girl...'_ Sighing he looked back to the young heroes who just showed their true heart, valor, and will to beat overwhelming odds. Passing the milestone once again, he was started to like these children more and more.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Gray panted as he stood over the broken remains of the demon that had haunted him for so long. At long last it was done.

He let himself fall on the ground in complete exhaustion. A chuckle escaped his lips, which soon escalated into a soft laugh. He laughed in joy, relief, sadness. Tears rolled down his eyes as images of his parents and Ur flashed before his eyes.

_'Mom, dad, Ur... We did it'_ He look to the stars, the sky was so clear tonight. _'Thank you..._'

He turned his gaze to Naruto, who sat cross legged on the ground looking his way; "Holding out on us have you? I never saw that before."

"Yeah" Gray sighed with a smile. "It's a stronger variant of another technique of mine. I've been working on it for a while now… Figure now it was a good time as any to test it"

"Still, it was quite impressive," Erza spoke next walking over as her armor vanish to back to her 'Hearts Cruz'.

"Guys!" They saw Lucy and Claire running towards them. "Are you alright?"

Natsu sat down and groaned. "I'm hungry..."

"They're fine" The elf said flippantly. She looks at the remains of the battlefield, feeling a great sense of accomplishment and relief. "It's a shame we didn't have a crowd, we could be the stars of our own bard's song"

"We did kill a legendary demon of Zeref" Erza smirked. "This is what, our second?"

"Hell yeah!" Natsu cheered with a flame spewing at the back of his throat. "Score two for Team Natsu!"

"WHO THE HELL SAID YOU COULD NAME THE TEAM THAT?!"

Naruto laughs at Gray's outburst as Happy landed on his shoulder. _'I think Mira will be okay with this.' _

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The Fairy Tail crew is greeted with cheer by the villagers, Sherry, Yuuka, and Toby. A heavily bandaged Lyon on smiled as they came inside the village. Even the giant rat in a dress oddly enough was cheering as it sat outside the village.

"Here are the heroes who bested the foul demon!" The villagers cried accolades and shouts of gratitude. Claire stifled a laugh.

Lyon slowly walked towards Gray; he gently pushed himself away from the grip of his friends. He stood face to face with his former fellow student. His mouth opened and closes, as if looking the right words to say. "Gray I..." His gaze dropped in shame. "That was amazing. You acted as a proud student of Ur, I'm sure she's proud of what you did... Just like I'm sure she's ashamed by the things I did and was willing to do..."

The ice mage of Fairy Tail said nothing; he looked at the moon which still shined with a purple light. "On the way here, I saw the shards of Iced Shell melting into a stream, reaching the ocean" Lyon lifted his gaze. "Ur will always be there, just like she's right here" He softly tapped his chest with his fist. "She always kept us close to her heart too. Her daughter, you, me, not matter what happens, I'm sure Ur will always be proud of us"

His words were too much, the silver haired mage's ices filled with tears which streamed down his face. He ran a hand in an attempt to clean them. His heart ached at the memories of his teacher's wisdom and motherly kindness, of all the times he said and did those stupid things she had disciplined him, but she never stopped being the supportive kind woman who always wanted him to become the best he could be.

"You wanna truly live up to her legacy?" Gray asked without waiting for an answer. "Join a Guild, make friends, work to help other people. Make sure you're happy. That's all she ever wanted"

Lyon remained silent, taking in his friend's advice. Perhaps he should try. Looking at Gray, seeing how strong he'd become, how happy he was… Perhaps that was a life truly worth living, a true worthy dream.

Mocha walked over to the Fairies; "Thank for saving us all. BUT WHEN WILL YOU DESTROY THE MOON?!"

"Yeah, I wanna do that!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Oh for the love of god" Lucy grumbled in exasperation. "The moon is NOT the problem! When is that gonna get through that think head of yours?!" The villagers looked at them in confusion.

"I wanna blow it up anyway!"

"Oh for the love of..." Erza sighed and summoned her spear. "Natsu" She took a stance and aimed at the sky. "Punch it"

"Now we're talking!" His fist set aflame, the Dragon Slayer punched the butt of the spear with all his might as Erza threw it. The spear flew at maximum speeds towards the sky, for a moment it looked like it had collided with the moon, but in actuality it impacted against the Moon Drip barrier, it spread cracks all over the surface before finally breaking apart like broken glass.

The villagers smiled in cheer as the moon finally began shining its natural light after so long. They looked among themselves unexpectedly to see their bodies to return to normal. Only they didn't.

"W-Wait" One of the exclaimed. "Why didn't it work?" They began talking among themselves in fear and confusion.

Lyon's group shifted uncomfortably. "Um, yeah. Sir?" Sherry said awkwardly. "The Moon Drip ritual which makes the sky around the island purple at night actually isn't at fault for your, uh... condition"

"We've been here for three years" Yuuka added. "And it hasn't affected us"

"Then why does he look like a dog?" One of the villagers questioned, pointing at Toby.

"HEY WHO ARE YOU CALLING A DOG?! OW!" The doggish young man shouted before giving a very dog-like sound.

"...No idea" Yuuka admitted. "But we're certain the Moon Drip has nothing to do with it"

Mocha looked at them in confusion. "But... why do we look like this then?"

"Okay" Claire said tiredly. "This has gone on long enough. Listen up people" She called everyone's attention. "You're not human beings changed into demons; you're demons who can shape shift!"

The villagers stared at her for one long moment. "Girl, what did you smoke?"

The elf sighed and ran a hand over her face. "It's me, elder Mocha, Claire. Don't you remember? I visited Galuna before. Right before your son was born I think"

The elder gave her a scrutinizing look before his face lite up in realization. "Wait, I remember you!" He pointed a finger at her. "You got drunk on the moon-ale and danced around naked!"

"Do all the places you visit end up with you getting into drunken tirades?" Lucy dryly asked.

"Yep, that was me" Claire nodded. "Now, just out of curiosity. What do you remember about your mother?"

"Well that's a bit out of nowhere" The elder commented. "But I remember her fondly" He laughed. "Oh she would carry me in her claws and take me flying so high..." He blinked. Once, then twice. "...Why do I remember my mother having claws and wings?"

For what felt an eternity, nobody said anything.

"Oh dear, we're demons..." The elder muttered in realization.

"DING, DING, DING! You won the prize! I have come to this Island over a dozen times for over fifty years. I know every one of you by name." Claire smiled warmly.

A grey demon scratched his head; "I remember now. You never judged us for being demons. The elder even made you an honorary villager for helping us when that bad sickness came around."

The villagers talked among themselves in shock at this newfound revelation. "I... I remember clearly now" A female demon said. "We've always been like this"

"B-But..." The elder trembled as tears ran down his cheeks. "What about my son Bobo?"

"I'm fine dad!" A voice suddenly exclaimed; they looked to the sky to see a demon flying on the air with his wings. He looked a lot like the ferryman who had taken the Fairies to the island. His skin was purple and had dark spots over it, and had two horns sprouting from his head. "I sorry I hid away; it's just that everyone was acting so weird I was afraid the same would happen to me!" He smiled apologetically. "Sorry I made you worry so much!"

Mocha stared up in shock as his tears kept flowing like waterfalls. Slowly, a smile formed on his lips. "S-Son..." He smiled widely as two wings sprouted from his back. "BOBO!" He cried happily as he flew to embrace his son. The rest of the villagers joined them as they danced on the sky, their figures becoming silhouettes under the moonlight.

"They're not demons to me" Erza smiled warmly at the sight of the overjoyed people. "They look more like angels"

At the redhead's words, Claire only smiled. These were truly good humans. Inside his mind. Naruto and the Bijuu king only stare silently at one another. There was no arrogance or smugness in the blond's words as he spoke; "Your thoughts now Kyuubi?"

"**Tch**" The fox grunted. "**I'm bored now. Let me sleep**"

Opening his eyes, Naruto looked up to the moon solemnly. As the night wore on, the blond Uzumaki Natsu, Erza, and Gray were treated and bandaged by the village's healers. Soon everyone retired for bed.

The white fox stood over the roof of a hut.

Once more these mortals showed to be interesting. Demons they were, but the people of this island were kind folk who only wanted to live in peace. A vulpine smirk formed on his face.

"This should help you..." The white fox takes a deep breath.

He softly blew his breath into the wind, his magic was carried through the element and a small breeze picked up. He commanded the wind to go to the brave youngsters.

Gently the wind flowed through the village like a stream, entering into the Fairies' hut through the window. The magic in the wind caressed their bodies, softly flowing over their wounds, speeding up their healing and helping them rest, allowing for their energy to recover faster this night.

Satisfied with his task, the fox gazed at the starry horizon, jumping down from the hut he calmly walked until he reached the shore. He walked about the water as if his paws touched solid ground.

He had a few friends to see, there was still work to be done.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

**Okay, sorry this took so long to come out folks.**

**Couple of things, the Unison Raid '**_**Ilustris Universalis**_**' in Latin roughly means '**_**Universal Starlight**_**', that's the best translation we could come up with.**

**Also NO, the crystal Ultear found to revive Deliora is NOT a McMuffin. It's actually something we have planned to have long end reaching consequences and related with other stuff we have for the story**

**That's all for now, we'll be working on our other story, RWBYN, next. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	9. What's Within

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

Co-Author &amp; Beta: Etheral-23

**(New addition to the chapter)**

Chapter 9: What's within?

The crystal spun inside the glass case, pulsing with a soft light every few seconds. Magic runes circled around the crystal, keeping the energy of the object in a stable flow as various pieces of equipment took readings of the crystal's energy and composition.

Ultear stared at it with admiration and longing. She felt... like she was lacking something. She wanted to hold the crystal in her hands again, its essence surging through her body, filling her with energy and power. Invoking in her feelings of empowerment mixed with orgasmic pleasure, like her body was taken to higher state of existence.

Maybe... Maybe she could convince Master Hades to allow her the use of the crystal from time to time. Solely for experimental purposes of course.

"The way you keep staring at it" A familiar voice said. "Is unsettling"

The Time Mage rolled her eyes and peered over her shoulder at Weiss, who stood by the door with his hands on the pockets of his coat and an impassive look on his face. "Nobody asked you"

Weiss made a throaty noise; "And you were actually able to revive that demon with this?"

"I do not know where this came from," Ultear gazed over to the man; "But I could never describe in words what I felt using this power."

"Hmph" The silver haired man crossed his arms and stared at the crystal with piercing brown eyes. "Whatever it is, it's undeniably powerful then. Your magic can't affect organic matter unless you're pushing yourself to the brink at great costs"

Ultear deadpanned. "Are you honestly explaining to me how my magic works?"

Weiss ignored her snide comment. "Did it leave any lasting effects on you?"

"No. I... do not believe so" She said. The empowered feeling persisted for a time, but it faded out eventually. Weiss's words made her wonder, was the power truly gone? Perhaps there was a way to harness it inside her for a longer time next chance she had of holding the crystal.

"At any rate," the silver haired man interrupted her thoughts; "Master Hades wished to speak you about Galuna Island."

"Very well," Ultear said as she walked passed Weiss, opening the door. "Despite everything, Naruto still showed impressive skill," she smirked when she felt her lover frowning behind her.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Have we yet to determine the origins of this gem?"

"No, Meredy is still searching"

They walked towards the archive and research area of their great ship, entering a room filled with various magical artifacts, tomes, and other arcane constructions. Long pillars stood at the edges of the chamber, giving it a more regal appearance. At the end of the room were various lacrimas displaying holographic screens containing data they had amassed through the years. One giant holographic screen stood between the rests.

They noticed several people of their inner circle standing in the room, among them was them imposing figure of their wise and powerful Master Hades. He stood with his arms crossed as he stared impassively as the data running over the screen. In front of transparent keyboard was Ultear's adopted daughter, Meredy, she was rapidly tapping the key, and the young pinkette had a concentrated look on her face as she worked.

"Well look who decided to join us" The crazed voice of their god-slayer member said with amusement. His wild blonde hair and red pupils consisting of several circles only adding to his crazy demeanor. "What's wrong Ultear? Even with that awesome rock thing you couldn't take out a bunch of fairies?"

Ultear only scoffed at the man while her daughter typed; "Master, I can't find anything on the gem. It's possible it predates known history." Meredy spoke in a monotone voice.

"I had a feeling that would be the case, but check even the smallest of rumors to minor legends." Hades said calmly.

"It is possible the crystal has no connection to the temple of Garuda Island" The empathic mage suggested.

Their master stroked his long beard. "You're thinking it just ended up there due to circumstances... Hmm, yes, that's a possibility we should take into account" He shifted his one good eye at Ultear. "Have you managed to find out how old the crystal is?"

"Damnedest thing" Ultear let out a frustrated breath. "Its magic simply interferes with my own. That thing's energy is just so... primal, that my magic can't get a reach on how long it has existed"

"Primal..." The tall and muscular man of the group, whose hair black stood out like various strips of confetti, mused. "You mean like the magic found in nature" Due to his brand of magic, Azuma was very familiar with such energies.

"It's not 'like' the magic found in nature" The time mage refuted. "It IS magic from nature but... it's so intricately connected to the world. I've never felt anything like it before" She shifted her gaze back at their master. "One thing I can say for certain is that the magic of that crystal is ancient, primordial even"

A fairly tall and lanky young man. He had silver-colored hair in a pompadour style, wearing silver designed glasses and purple jacket with fur trimming crossed his arms; "Could it have been purposely forgotten in history?" Rustyrose spoke up. "Not the first time we found things like that."

"I agree," Weiss said simply leaning his back against the wall.

A very tall overweight man wearing a cape and two belts like collars over his chest rubs his chin in thought. "But something so powerful to be forgotten..." Kain muses. "From Ultear's report, it allowed her to access an outstanding level of magic"

"Bah!" Zancrow scoffed with a mocking grin. "Cool rock or not, the demon she brought back went out like a pussy!"

Meredy held her anger in reign; she couldn't tolerate anyone insulting Ultear like that. But it wasn't her who had the right to put him in his place.

Ultear shifted an anger driven glare at him. "The Fairies were smart in their fight, and that elf who joined them knew magic that could hurt demons immensely" She narrowed her eyes as she remembered that night. "To think they formed a Unison Raid..."

"It is not your fault Ultear" To her surprise, Hades said in her defense. "Elves are knowledgeable people, trust me, I know from experience" He remembered in his younger days, during his quest for magic to bring Mavis back, his travels had taken him to the kingdom of the dark elves, there he had met a woman, cunning, powerful, dangerous, beautiful, driven by her desires. He often compared her with a poisonous spider, she never minded, in fact; she laughed and said the comparison was very fair. He had learnt a lot from that dark elf. He shook his head and focused on the present, now wasn't the time to dwell on memories. "Hmm" A thought occurred to him. "The power that comes from the crystal, a primal power you said, do you believe it could be similar to the one Uzumaki invokes?" He gave Meredy a command with a simple nod

Wordlessly, Meredy brought up images and footage of the sage in battle, the data around them showed things the normal eye wasn't able to perceive, readings about a strange energy emanating from him during certain battles. As far as they could tell, the Uzumaki had kept this energy a secret from Fairy Tail, only invoking it on dangerous missions where he was alone against various threats.

Azuma rubbed his goatee; "His combat skills I can respect. He can play the fool but can be a killer when needed."

"He's nothing but a cocky brat needing an ass kicking," Zancrow scoffed.

"And if this 'cocky brat' as you called him uses his inner power at full strength?" Hades lifted a brow.

"Oh please!" He smiled maniacally, lifting his head as black fire licked at the tip of his fingers. "Thanks to you master I learnt the magic to kill gods! What's a punk-ass fairy like him gonna do against someone like me?"

"Hmph" A tall goat man wearing shades sniffed in distaste. "One day, that attitude of you will get you killed"

"Ah shove it up your ass Zoldeo!"

"It's a miracle we've gone this far without killing each other..." Weiss drawled as he learnt his head against the wall.

"Those who share a common goal can accomplish much as a unit than alone," Hades said sagely.

None rebuked him as they all owed this man much for the power they all now wield. He one eye gazed at the viewing screen; "We must learn this young man's power, and see if it perhaps connected or linked to the gem."

Hades stared back into the screen. "Before we conclude this meeting, I want to go over some other people of interest to ours. Meredy, bring up the Dragon Slayer files"

"Yes master"

"Dragon Slayers?" The god-slayer moaned. "Why bother with them? We've got tons of more powerful magics"

"Fool" Ultear scolded him. "Unlike the magics we have learnt, even your god slayer magic, Dragon Slaying magic can only be acquired by two ways. Either one is implanted by a dragon lacrima or they are taught the magic themselves by a dragon"

"Of which they haven't been seen for hundreds of years" Hades said. With the exception of one in particular, of course. "We have it on good authority that Oracion Seis's Dragon Slayer was implanted with a Poison Dragon lacrima. But" He turned to face his subordinates. "With the information we've gathered we have discovered three Dragon Slayers who do not possess a lacrima implant" His words shocked many of them.

"Wait" Rustyrose's eyes widened. "Then that means..."

"They were taught their magic by real dragons" Weiss finished for him in an emotionless tone, but those who knew him better understood he was deeply focused on the subject at hand.

"Interesting..." A tall man with a clothed ponytail and triangular sideburns said, speaking for the first time ever since the meeting started. Bluenote made a mental note to look into it further.

After receiving a nod from Hades, Meredy brought up the first file, a picture of a young pink haired man. "No doubt you've all heard about him, with the ruckus he often makes it's hard not to. Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail, the Fire Dragon Slayer" The picture was of the pinkette eating a ten feet tall monster all by himself.

"Colorful..." Ultear droned.

Kain blinked; "Are demon's tasty?"

That earned him a round of sighs. "I am not even going to dignify that with an answer," Zoldeo adjusted his shades.

Meredy blinked at the screen; "He's an idiot..."

"While I agree he is a touch simple minded, he does show skill when the need arises," Hades commented. "Show the next one dear."

The next image screamed 'punk'. Tall, muscular, the man had steel studs along the bridge of his nose and his hairless eyebrows; he wore a sleeveless dark tunic torn at the tails, studded wristbands, fingerless studded gloves and baggy pants inside studded boots. His hair was dark, long and spiky, and his eyes red with slanted pupils. On his shoulder was a symbol they recognized.

"Phantom Lord" Bluenote mused. "They have been competing against Fairy Tail for years. Makes sense they got a Dragon Slayer on their own to counter theirs"

"Gajeel Redfox" Meredy clarified for the others. "The Iron Dragon Slayer. High offensive and defensive power, he is savage and ruthless"

"Out of the entire guild he only respects Jose, Phantom's current master, and one of the Ten Wizard Saints" Ultear spoke up. "A cruel and powerful man."

"Next to Phantom's Elemental Four, he is not to be taken lightly," Hades spoke.

"Heh" Zancrow grinned. "If I run into him I'll just melt his metal and eat it"

"Can you even eat metal?" Rustyrose wondered. "I though the whole Slayer thing was about eating your own element"

"Well, if I melt it and it's hot then I can, so it has the recharging effect of eating fire"

"How does that even work?"

"You know what I'm not sure; the whole 'eating elements' thing is a bit screwy..."

"Moving on..." Meredy tried to remain calm as not to slap those idiots, she went to the next file.

The next person was a woman. Not only was she tall but she was also packed with large and highly toned muscles, her figure was both broad yet retained womanly curves. Her hair was a spiky blonde, with wrapped in a wild ponytail on the back of her neck while the top spread over her head, with some strands framing her face. Her skin was a dark tan and her eyes were red in color. She wore a type of gladiator-looking leather armor. Arm guards over her forearms, a single metallic shoulder pad over her left shoulder and a chest piece with leather strips coming from a large belt, forming a sort of kilt, along with shin guards and sandals. She had a predatory smirk, looking like a woman who loved a good challenge. On her shoulder was a tribalistic yellow sun tattoo

"Atenea of Callisto, the Lava Dragon Slayer"

"She's with the Sunreavers guild," Weiss spoke, looking at the mark on her shoulder. "The guild master is not someone to cross."

"Speaking from experience Weiss?" Kain asked.

"Worked with him on occasions back in my days as a Council specialist" The swordsman explained. "He's a great commanding officer"

"Strong too" The gravity mage added, crossing his arms, contemplate look on his face. "Not only that, he always made sure to prepare his men for everything. I've little doubt Solaris trains his guild like they're military"

"You know him too?" Kain asked their deputy commander in surprise.

"Fought against him" He revealed much to the shock of some of them. "Back in the Cabria War, Solaris lead one of the council regiments"

Quite a few people in the room grimaced; "That was a rather brutal conflict if memory serves," Zoldeo glanced to the gravity mage.

"...Unless you were there, words will never describe it. Solaris left the military after that war and became a guild master. He is one of the few people I show respect to," Bluenote eyed the screen.

"His guild, the Sunreavers, they do pretty good. Lots of high class mages like Fairy Tail, various members of his regiment joined him when he funded his guild" The pinkette empath explained, bringing up several images of battles the Fairies had partaken in on one side of the screen. And at the other side appeared images of other mages and battles, comparing them with Fairy Tail's. "Master marksmen, swordsmen, rune mages, wielders of various types of magic, they're professionals"

Bluenote briefly smirked; "Trained them well didn't you Solaris?" Weiss only eyes the screen blankly.

"Fairy Tail looks more like rowdy brawlers," Rustyrose said dryly.

"Makarov always prepared them properly in his own way." The master of Grimoire Heart said. "While I do not doubt any of your skills, it is best not to underestimate any of our enemies; our paths are bound to cross eventually"

"Yes, Master Hades" The dutifully bowed their heads.

"Meanwhile, it's better if you familiarize with them as much as possible. Meredy" He once more turned to the pinkette. "Show them the rest of the information we gathered"

"Yes" Tapping a few keys, she brought up new images... which were of the Lava Dragon Slayer, in a bikini on the beach; the muscular woman was posing and flaunting her body.

All eyes slowly shift from the screen the young girl who was currently entering the infra-red due to how hard she was blushing. "Uh..." She stammered, for once breaking her monotone voice. "I-Ignore that..."

Zancrow chuckled crossing his arms over his chest; "Don't give a damn if she is the enemy, hot is hot damn it! And Meredy agrees" he bursted out laughing.

"OH SHUT UP!" A tomato red Meredy finally lost her temper which made the man laugh harder.

Ultear only sighed.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"So the people of the island were demons all along?"

"I know, Crazy huh?" Naruto said as he leaned back in the couch, his arms crossing behind his head. "Claire told us all about it"

Mira smiled as she sat beside him; "She might act like a pervert, but Claire really cared for those villagers. Regardless of what they are."

"But man seeing her serious is scary, feels wrong coming from her" Naruto shivered. "I'm just glad she is on our side."

"And to fight a demon of Zeref even more dangerous than Lullaby" The elder Strauss mused in amazement. "You guys did an amazing thing"

"I'm happy Gray got some closure" The blonde said with sympathy, ever since they returned, the ice mage looked like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and it showed. Oh he still fought with Natsu at every single opportunity, but he showed a more invigorated spirit than before, like he felt ready to take on the whole world.

"That old friend of Gray, you think he will join a guild?" Mira asked.

The blond sage shrugged; "That'd be up to Lyon and those other three. I'll say he does have talent, hope he puts it to good use."

The former 'S' class mage nodded; "So everything worked out in the end. I glad everyone made it home safely."

"Got close for a few moments there" The sage admitted. "Haven't met a demon of this world that was as strong as Deliora was" Its sheer raw power had been overwhelming; it felt like they had fought a bijuu.

"The demons of Zeref are fearsome creations of the Dark Mage" The white haired young woman said. "They've become terrible legends due to how much destruction they've brought. But don't set a bar to how strong they can get just yet, as Master says, there's always something more"

"Agree with Jiji on that... So we miss anything while we were gone?"

"Not much happened, it's been a rather peaceful few days."

"Oh" Naruto said in a deadpanning tone. "Maybe it had something to do with the most destructive and trouble making members of the guild being away?"

"Well..." Mirajane awkwardly scratched her cheek. "Maybe? There was a distinctive lack of explosions and sues for damages to personal property... not a lot, but you could tell there weren't as many as usual"

The blond slumped his head forward; "And I try to avoid chaos anymore." Especially after he met Natsu, and meeting people way crazier than he was.

"'Try' being the word. It kinda follows you around like a girlfriend..."

Naruto suppressed a groan and rolled his eyes. _'Here we go..._'

"Speaking off" Mira said cheerfully.

_'Knew it'_

"Sooooo" She went full on gossip. "Met any cute girl lately?"

"What is your deal with people's love life?" Naruto was genuinely mystified by Mirajane's matchmaking obsessions. "There is a reason why people don't talk about this stuff with you, you always make it awkward"

"...Boy then?"

"Oh hell no!" Naruto lightly glared; "Hell you put me and Levy-chan on a date last year."

"Opposites can make good couples," Mira defended. "Plus you two are close friends now, though neither of you will say what you did that night" She glared cutely.

And no one ever will as far as Naruto and Levy were concerned.

She sighed. "You never tell me anything about the people you went out with"

"NOBODY does. And for good reason" Naruto stressed. "You get these..." He waved his hands, looking for the right words. "Weird plans for pairing up people. And always ask details about everyone's love life like you're Dr. Love or something"

"I could so be if that were a real profession..." She crossed her arms and grumbled, looking away. "I'm just curious" She told him. "You don't speak much about the people from your world. I had figured you had someone waiting for you there"

"I do"

"Romantically" Mirajane clarified slowly.

Naruto sighed as he rested his head over the couch. He wasn't getting away from this was he? "Tell you what" He finally came to decision, if only so Mira would stop asking. "I'll tell you about someone I once thought I cared about as more than a friend" He held a hand as Mirajane started to get all giddy. "IF... You first tell me about YOUR love life, seeing as you pester people for theirs so much. It's only fair" Might as well get something from this.

The former S rank mage fidgeted with her skirt for a moment, looking unsure. "Alright... I'll tell you about someone I once had a crush on. But only if you keep it a secret"

"I promise," Mira sighed hearing that. That was one thing she could always count on, her roommate always kept his promises.

"Well…" She fidgeted with her skirt and blushed, looking away. "When I was younger, I had a crush on Erza..." She waited for it.

Naruto's face remained completely impassive, never showing any other emotion other than calm stoic-ness. "I see" He said.

Nearby birds flew away in fright as a voice suddenly shouted. "WHAT?!"

Mirajane rubbed her sore eardrum. "It's not that big a deal..." She muttered.

Naruto sputtered in a rather hilarious way. "But you... her... everyone in the guild said you two hated each other when younger!"

The white haired beauty rubbed her cheek awkwardly; "Yeah... Truth was I used that to hide how big of a crush I had for her..."

"How big of a crush we are talking here?"

"Um..."

XxX - years ago - XxX

_After a brawl between the young Strauss and the Scarlet, which resulted in several broken chairs, tables, mugs and various others pieces of guild property, the Master had put them as far away from each other so they could calm down._

_Erza sat on a corner, grumbling to herself and rubbing a burning spot on her head where that demon had torn off pieces of her hair during the brawl._

_On the other corner, away from everyone else's sight, Mirajane sniffed deeply into the beautiful red strands of hair in her hand, taking in the magnificent scent in them. "One day my love... one day you will be mine"_

XxX - present - XxX

"W-Well you know Erza" Mira laughed nervously, carefully avoiding going into the details of her... less than sane younger years. "So driven, and strong, and honorable, and beautiful. C-Can't fall someone for having a crush on her"

The blond Uzumaki just gave a long dry incredulous stare as his roommate shook her head; "Your turn!"

"...Well I can say on my account my crush was one sided," Naruto said as he stood up. "Her name was Sakura Haruno. Now I have no idea what she looks like now, but this was her before I vanished from home." putting his hands together he henged.

Mirajane stared at the pink haired young woman Naruto turned into. "She's cute; I can see why you had a crush on her"

Naruto changed back. "Yeah" He scratched his head and sat back in the couch. "But... it was complicated. Okay that's being generous things were a damn mess. I was a damn mess"

The Strauss looked at him with concern. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, the reason goes a long way..." He said. "But to make a long story short, I thought I had a crush on her. But looking back at it I realized it wasn't even that. I just didn't understand a lot of things, I grew up without parents, I... was never close to someone like that" Mirajane nodded in understanding, Naruto never went into many details of his childhood, but one thing she had learnt was how he had grown without parents, like she and her siblings had. But he had been unfortunate enough to never haven known them. "So I didn't understand what I was feeling, I just acted on those things without knowing cause I... wanted to compete with someone"

"Compete?"

"We were young and dumb; Sakura had a crush on another boy. The kind of guy who always seems so perfect at everything he does and drives you crazy because you feel you can't keep up"

"He was a prodigy?" Mira surmised.

"Yeah, as cocky as I can be, I can say Sasuke was the best shinobi among my age. I can admit after his entire clan was murdered anyone would be bent. But he outright refused having friends, never believing in teamwork, all he cared for was getting stronger to kill his brother Itachi."

The elder Strauss looked at him with wide horrified eyes while gawking. "...Okay. That is unbelievably fucked up and I cannot believe you just blurted that out without easing it on me first or actually be more tactfully about it..."

Now it was the blond looking wide eyed; "I can't believe you actually swore!"

"That's what you're concerned about?!" She screeched. "You just told me how someone you know had his entire family murdered, BY HIS OWN BROTHER, without the least bit of hesitation, in a completely unrelated matter! Learn some tact for gods' sake!"

"Um... Kakashi-Sensei and Ero-Sennin tried..." Naruto weakly defended.

Well 'try' being too weak of a word. More along the lines of beating it into his skull, literally. But as Jiraiya commented, 'He has too much of Kushina's personality'. Meaning he would be naturally blunt as a hammer.

All that earned him was a dry glare. "With a title like 'Pervy-Sage', I honestly doubt how much a good influence such a person was"

"...And now I realize what kind of male influences I've been keeping in my life" Well yeah, there was Iruka-sensei, so at least there was that. "Look, just forget about it"

"I wish I could..."

"Anyway..." Naruto attempted to return to topic; "Sasuke was what Cana calls a 'pretty boy'. With nearly every female of my former class all having a crush on him"

"And you were jealous" Mirajane reasoned.

He sighs. "He was just so... good at everything he did. Meanwhile I was the dead last of my class. I tried everything to compete with him, to catch up to him and be the ninja I wanted to be... even telling myself I had a crush on Sakura, thinking it was love, when actually at the time I didn't even understand that kind of love"

The white haired beauty placed her dainty hand onto Naruto's larger; "So that's why you were uncomfortable going on a date, because you never had one till Levy."

"Pretty much..." Naruto sighed.

"Oh Naruto why didn't you tell me?" She softly asked. She winced after she said so. "...Right, both you and Levy protested"

"Hey, what could I have told you?" He replies. That he was so emotionally inept he didn't even understand his own feelings so he had no idea what to do when confronted with any kind of intimacy or relationship of that nature? Not something one wants others to know about oneself.

He was older and knew better now, he understood better. Yet still those sorts of feelings made him nervous, because he understood them now, because he knew who they were aimed at now. And he knew it just wouldn't be possible. He had a world to return to, he just... he just couldn't do that to Mira.

'_**Keep lying to yourself as much as you want, **_**I**_** know what is truly in your heart,**_' The Bijuu King mentally mused to himself as he chuckled.

XxX ~ Guild hall ~ XxX

"Booooored" Natsu let out a long groan from his place on the table; he was sprawled all over it with a dead eyed look on his face. "Booooored"

"Stop saying you're bored!" Lucy screeched.

"But I am bored!"

"Well complaining about it won't make it more interesting!"

"It's not my fault Erza is punishing us with no jobs for breaking the guild's rules!"

"...Yes it is!" The Celestial Mage finally lost it. "It's in part mind you, but you're as much to blame!

Naruto just gazed over dryly while he sat at the bar. Natsu could whine all he wanted; the blond Uzumaki liked the break from the chaos. Then again this place could turn to ground zero if anything happened, literally.

Though would it be too much to ask to have a beer in peace?

"Hmph" Erza huffed from her place on a table as she cleaned one of her many swords. "No jobs allowed until master returns with a proper punishment Natsu. If you continue complaining, you'll leave me no choice but to punish you myself"

"...I'll be good" He mumbled

Naruto chuckled nervously; leave it to Erza to maintain order around here. A wandering thought settled in his head, remembering Mirajane's words about her old crush on Erza. He didn't want to admit it (which was becoming increasingly difficult) but a part of him felt a bit jealous. Did Mira still have feelings for Erza?

Another random thought settled on his head, this one making him nosebleed.

"Stop imagining it" Mirajane whispered with an angry look on her face. Apparently, she caught on to what he was thinking.

"Uh kinda hard considering it's the two most beautiful ladies I know," the blond whispered back.

The take-over mage lightly blushed before she shook it off glaring cutely; "You want supper tonight?"

"I'll shut up..."

"When is the old man coming back?" Claire asked, shaking a martini glass in her hand. "I wanna get this punishment over so I can have fun again"

"Aren't you older than him?" Gray dryly asks.

"Hey, he insists I call him gramps. 'Sides, it's not the years you have, it's how you feel what counts"

"Then following that logic you must be an immature perverted teen" Macao says before drinking from his mug.

The said elf just looked at Macao sitting beside Wakaba before lifting her blouse showing off her boobs. Quite a few males and some females along with the two veteran mages are sent flying via nose bleeds. Naruto only remained due to holding his nose, Claire lowered her blouse; "Takes a pervert to know a pervert... Brat"

Cana raised a mug to her. "You, my friend, are awesome. Only reason I don't flash people is because it takes away my time from drinking" She then proceeded to drink whole mug in one gulp.

Lucy facepalms. "Is every person here are a pervert, an alcoholic, or both?"

"Hey don't categorize us like that!" Wakaba argued, rising from the floor and cleaning his nose. "We have tons of other vices"

"LIKE THAT MAKES IT BETTER!" Lucy glared over. Natsu laughed while Happy ate a fish beside him. It never got old seeing the buxom blond lose it.

Mira only sighed as she walked back to the bar after serving drinks. She stopped at the job stand titling her head; "What's this?"

That prompted Naruto to leave his stool to walk over; "What is it?"

"I don't remember this job being here before" It was written over a dark paper with strange arcane symbols drawn on it.

Naruto sweatdropped. "What's with the ominous look..?"

"500.000 Jewels just by reading it?" Mirajane read over the job description in confusion.

The jinchuuriki rolled his eyes. "Why doesn't it just say 'smutch-bait'?"

Erza also walked over as Mira put the paper down on a table beside Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy. "An easy 500,000," Natsu shrugged, how hard could it be?

Gray lifted a brow gazing over; "The hell, what kind of language is that?"

Those words made Claire come to the table.

"Does it look familiar to you Claire?" The Titania asked the elf.

The raven haired elf taped her chin and hummed in thought. "Think that is an arcane language made to cast certain magics. Beats me which, there are a lot of those"

"If you speak it right maybe we get fish" Happy wondered with a hopeful expression while drooling.

Lucy only rubbed her eyes; "Everything involves food with you."

"Let's read it!" Natsu said excitedly. He could buy all sorts of food with that mo-

A chop to his head stopped his thoughts. "I said no jobs!" Erza angrily growled. "And didn't you hear her? It must be a curse of some sort!"

The rosette dragon slayer did not really listen and just read; "Aw this language is easy." As he spoke the words despite being yelled at by Erza, Naruto had a bad feeling coming.

A glowing light of rainbow colors enveloped the eight. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. The group rubbed their eyes and stared down at the paper on the table.

"Well that didn't do squat..." Lucy commented... in an oddly heavier tone unlike her usually feminine voice. She held a hand to her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief. "What the hell's up with my voice?" She suddenly lent forward, supporting herself on the table while pressing a hand to her waist. "And why is my back killing me...?"

"Uhhhh..." Natsu looked at Claire with wide eyes, just like Lucy, his voice was off. "THIS happened apparently..."

"HOW DID EVERYONE GET SO BIG?!" Happy said in a frantic tone, looking around from his place on table.

"Okay... That was weird dattebayo," Mirajane said before she froze. "Uh... Why do I sound like Mira-chan?"

Naruto covered his mouth with both hand staring at Mira; "Foxy!"

The surprisingly very calm Fire Dragon Slayer spoke up; "Okay people calm down..."

"How can I calm down?!" Gray shouted in a shrill voice. "I-I'm freezing and I'm pretty sure I have a thing, a MALE thing, down there!"

"Uhhhh..." Macao droned, looking at him with squinting eyes. "It IS supposed to be there Gray..."

"I'm not Gray!" The ice mage shrieked. "I'm Lucy!"

"...Huh?"

"My god" Wakaba whispered in realization. "The spell turned them all insane!"

"Of course!" Elfman agreed, banging a fist into his palm.

"No you morons!" The surprisingly irritated blue cat scowled at them darkly, they couldn't help but shudder at how familiar that scowl was. "We... we...!"

The Dragon Slayer rolls his eyes and rested his hands on his hips. "Changed bodies"

"...Yeah I guess that makes more sense" The smoke mage shrugged.

"It's Claire in here by the way," Natsu waved his hand; "This has to be some mage's idea of a practical joke, of which I am not laughing." He or rather she looked to her elven body; "You okay Natsu?" No response; "Uh you okay in there?"

The Dragon Slayer now in the elf's body promptly fell face first on the table, holding her, er, his hands over the waist. "Uhhhhhh my back..!" It was very strange to hear Claire speaking like Natsu. Well, everything about this situation was strange. "How do you girls walk with these balloons on your chest?!"

The elven woman inside Natsu's body eye twitched; "I like those balloons thank you. And it's called back exercises moron. You don't see Naruto complaining."

Said blond inside Mira's body was only staring at his body as he noticed his cerulean was now blankly staring at nothing. A very powerful sense of dread gripped him as he was mentally praying to any God listening; _'Please don't... Oh shit, don't say he... No, no, no..._' "Mira-Chan?" He ignored Erza going crazy in Happy's body, crying loudly.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The sound of water dripping echoed throughout the metallic corridors. It was dark, yet Mirajane could see somewhat despite the lack of any visible illumination. This place felt cold, but it did not feel empty.

She didn't fully understand what had happened. Not long after realizing she was in Naruto's body she had been... transported to somewhere else. A place that was unknown to her yet felt as if though it was part of Naruto.

Her Take-Over magic gave her a good understanding of the spirit, allowing her to grasp a better feel to the soul, both her own and foreign souls. After all, she had consumed demon souls before, incorporating them into her own. Her old forms, long unused, had become aspects of herself stored in different parts of her mind, her inner world. This place... it felt... oh she couldn't quite put it into words but this place felt spiritual in nature, she wasn't here in a physical sense.

Mira was at least grateful she looked like her old self. Her head sharply looked forward hearing a deep rumbling growl further within. She felt like she could literally taste hate incarnate in the wind. Taking a long deep breathe she walked through the corridor, Her midnight blue orbs gazed at the cracked walls and leaky pipes.

This was really Naruto's mind? It's a completely sharp contrast to the man she has known since appearing in Earthland years ago. It said a lot of what he held in the depths of his soul and raised questions she wasn't sure she truly wanted answered...

She reached a point where the corridor opened to another path, she could feel a wind coursing through, carrying a foul smelling stench, it almost felt like... breathing. She placed a hand over the corner and peered, there she saw a shorter extension of the corridor and at the end laid a barred gate sealed shut.

Shrouded by the darkness was a figure, it was gigantic, furry, the shadows partially hid an orange coloration. It was moving, softly, as if breathing.

A pair of eyes slowly opened, and Mirajane was greeted to the sight of two blood red eyes with slanted pupils.

**"Well now..."** The being behind the gate spoke in a deep malicious tone. **"Normally I just deal with the brat; I hardly ever get to entertain... And it's the woman he spends so much time with, like what you see mortal?"**

Hate... It was like someone decided to give hate physical form and this was the end result. But Mirajane slowly walked into the room, showing not fear, but shock.

**"Yes, yes, come closer"** The voice invited her with something akin to maniacal glee in its voice. **"Let me see you better"**

When Mirajane was but a few meters close, sharp claws slipped right through the bars with great force, splashing the water at her feet as they came a hair's breadth from ripping her to ribbons.

The fox laughed at the sight of the woman jumping back in fright. He through his head back as he continued howling with laughter, oh how long had it been since he last tasted a human's fear! And what a delightful sensation it-!

"No!" He felt a hand slapping one of his claws.

He suddenly stopped laughing and blinked. **"Eh?"**

She was frowning at him, putting a fist to her hip while she held up a hand, wiggling her finger at him, as if she was reprimanding a misbehaving child. "Bad!"

The Kyuubi literally did a double take at the mortal before him. Pretty much every human he had met has shown nothing but fear and terror at the sight of his presence. Yet here this girl was showing not an ounce of fear or hopelessness. At that the old fox snorted before lying down with his head on its crossed hands; **"Well that's boring. First different mortal I meet in a while and she has no fear of demons."**

"Uh" Mirajane gave him a deadpanning look. "I eat demons" She said as a show of confidence and strength. Sure, it'd been a long time since the last time she had consumed a demon, but it was clear this one here would-

...He was a demon... Naruto had a demon trapped inside him.

Mirajane gasped at the sudden revelation. All this time and Naruto never told her, she thought they really could tell each other anything that they trusted one another, but all this time he had kept this from her... She had done all she could to make sure he felt at home, to help him bear the burden of all he left behind from his old home. They had opened up to each other before didn't they?

...Maybe not as much as she was telling herself. Naruto had an idea of the nature of her now dormant powers, but... never had she told him about the years before she and her siblings found Fairy Tail.

**"That explains your scent,"** the large kitsune said in a bored tone. **"You reek of demonic energy, enough to even possibly rival my power one day if you keep consuming them. It'd be impressive if you were not afraid to use it."** The Kyuubi cruelly smirked; **"Did losing little Lisanna break you that much?"**

"How did you know that?"

**"I have telepathy girl, I can read your mind like a book while you're here... And it seems Naruto wasn't the only one hiding things was he?"**

"Get out of my head" She hissed in anger. How dare he bring up Lisanna? Why she ought to devour him and consume him for using the memory of her beloved late little sister just to hurt her.

**"You get out of the kit's body, where I am sealed I might add. As long as you're here I can see it all"** He chuckled darkly. **"Every little dark... Oh... Oh gods! What the hell is this?!"** Red eyes widened in disbelief and disgust**. "Just what how much weird stuff are you into?! Ahhhhh these fantasies of yours are just..! Why does that red headed armor freak appear in so many of those along with the kit?!"**

Mira had the decency to blush; "I'm over Erza!" waving her arms wildly.

**"Bullshit woman! You are in bigger denial than Naruto is! How much demonic nature ebbed into your personality!?" **

Mirajane looked away and rubbed her arm awkwardly. She often asked herself it those 'darker emotions' of hers were a result of the demons she had consumed, or were all her. That was something she definitely didn't want answered.

Getting back on track, the former S class mage looked at the great demon fox. "Why did Naruto not tell me about you?"

**"Well why do you think?"** The fox replied sardonically. **"Among those very twisted lewd thoughts and memories of yours, there is something that stood out, and after seeing it, I can tell you and the kit shared very similar childhoods"**

Mirajane gasped in shock.

**"Now leave! Gods I'll never get those images out of my head..."**

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"There I got it!" Levy exclaimed as she spoke the counter spell, having spent nearly all this time studying it before the spell became permanent.

Mirajane gasped and her eyes blinked several times. She looked at herself realizing she was within her own body again. And a very concerned, terrified Naruto was gazing at her; "Are you okay? Did you..." he whispered before her dainty hand covered his mouth.

"We are having a talk tonight," the white haired beauty said with finality.

The jinchuuriki looks at her with unease before letting out a sigh of resignation. Now way out of this one... Mirajane had found out about the Kyuubi, and she deserved some answers. He steeled himself, knowing she would accept him all the same, even if a part of him still remained fearful about the issue.

Maybe... it was time to finally stop it with the nonsense. He had no reason to hide it anymore, much less from Mira.

"Ah Levy-chan!" Lucy cried in joy as she hugged her friend. "Thank you so much!"

"Anything for my girl" Levy smiled as she closed her eyes, leaning into the blonde's embrace.

"Hmm, I like the sound of that~" A voice which most definitely not Lucy said, a pair of hands began wondering where they shouldn't.

Levy's eyes widened to see Lucy standing in front of her, instead of embracing her, looking just as confused as she was. Ever slowly, she shifted her gaze to see it was the elf who currently had her arms around her smaller frame.

The petite girl blushed as Claire rubbed her cheek on her own; "Hmm, honey, you should be flaunting the curves you have! Those legs, those hips." The elf purred.

"Umm... I'm flattered Claire, but I'm straight." Levy's blush brightened as Claire's hands roamed.

"Not when I'm done with you."

The elf yelped in pain when a metal gloved hand pulled her by the ear. "Alright" Erza grunted in annoyance. "That's enough out of you" Levy sighed in relief.

"You won't be there forever, Erza" The elf declared passionately as she was dragged away. "These beauties aren't safe from me!"

XxX ~ later that night ~ XxX

After the day calmed down and the guild closed for the night. Naruto sat quietly on the couch beside his roommate and friend since coming to this world. Before he could say anything Mirajane spoke first; "We... kept things from each other, both of us..."

She took a deep breath. "I met him, the demon inside you" Naruto tensed, it was so brief and fast it went unnoticed by Mirajane. "How long has he been trapped inside you?"

Naruto took a moment to answer, his gaze softly shifted to the ground before looking at her in the eye. "Since I was born"

The elder Strauss exhaled slowly. "I figured. He said you and I had very similar childhoods after all"

An incredulous look came from the blond's cerulean orbs. Mira sighed; "When I was little I just discovered my powers. I had absorbed some demonic essence and at the time I had no control of it..." Mira took a deep long sigh; "To any non-mage with no knowledge of take over magic, the people in my village thought I was demonized by my appearance..."

Her eyes glazed over, lost in the memories of her youth. "Our parents died when we were little, Elfman, Lisanna and I had to look after each other. When I was around thirteen, a demon had taken over the church, I defeated it... but I wasn't aware of my magic at the time, I absorbed some its power, my limbs became demonic as a result... And the people of our town chased us out, called me a monster, a demon... For a time I believed it"

Naruto stared at her in shock. Not since Gaara he had met someone who had gone through something like he did...

Mirajane stared right into his eyes. "Naruto... I never told you because I didn't think it mattered. I left that part behind me because I long since came to understand those things didn't have to define me. Even if people would still call me a demon I didn't care, I have family and friends who see me as I am, people I love so much..." She tenderly placed a hand on his cheek. "It's okay if you still don't feel ready, I understand"

The jinchuuriki stared at her for the longest time, various emotions surging inside him, conflicting with each other. "No..." He let out a long breath. "No Mira, you deserve to know, I won't hide this anymore like a coward. I've done it all my life, but no more" He took a deep breath, feeling encouragement and relief when she held his hand. "When I was born, a powerful demon attacked my village. Seeing no other choice, my parents sealed it inside me... that night they died"

Mirajane tightened the hold on his hand.

"Things were... more complicated than I'm telling you. But this is what matters now. I... I was just like you" He let it out, all the fear, all the pain of those years, he bared his soul to Mira and it felt right. "Everyone saw a demon, the looks the adults would give me, how they'd tell their kids to avoid me..."

"Naruto..."

"It got better with time. I trained, and I trained and I trained to prove to everyone I was myself, so other people would just acknowledge me. I got friends, family..."

"And you were forced to leave them behind when you were dragged to this world" The Strauss finished for him. She felt like she was understanding him for the first time, and could see how much he had lost. "Naruto... why didn't you tell me?"

He suddenly stood up from his couch, running his hands through his hair as he let out a growl of frustration. "Because I was afraid!" He paced around. "I know it was dumb and all but..! I never told anyone this Mira..." He confessed. "The people who knew either knew it since the beginning, or they found it out through other means. I never, literally NEVER, told this to anyone myself..." He looked at his hands with self-deprecation. "I... even avoided talking to them about it, I thought it'd never be a problem if it was never brought up... But I carried that fear with me all this time"

The blond did not care as the tears began falling from his eyes; "Because there could have always been the chance someone may think I was a monster. Mira, I met another like me who had a demon sealed within him, and for twelve years he was alone, he never had anyone. And worst yet his own father was trying to kill him. It drove him insane."

"Eventually it came back to haunt us, a bunch of people were looking for our demons for their damned plans" The memory of Asuma's funeral, visiting Jiraiya's gravestone, of Konoha reduced to a crater, flashed before his eyes. "People died, my village was destroyed. All because of something that was always beyond our control..!" So many people suffered to keep him safe...

His arms fell to his sides and his head hung low, feeling drained of all sudden. "And right now... they might be facing them still. Trapped in a war while I can do nothing... Being a jinchuuriki has brought me nothing but pain to me and everyone around me, to the point I pushed it away like I've been doing it always this time. If nobody else knew they couldn't be involved right? If they weren't involved nothing bad would happen to them. That's why I didn't want to tell anyone, especially you Mira..." He looked at her right in the eye. "Not after all you've done for me"

"Naruto" She looked at him pity and sympathy. "I-"

"You don't deserved that Mira" He breathed out. "Being burdened by knowing that, not when you've made me feel me at home, not when I have another home where they need me, to where I'll eventually have to go back. That's why I never told you, why I've always done my damndest to push away what I fe-" He quickly cut himself off. He cursed himself at his near slip out.

But it was too late now, Mirajane slowly stood up from the couch and looked up at him, her hands grasped tightly before her chest. "What you what?" She asked in the softest of hopeful filled tones.

Damn it why did she have look at him with those blue eyes that have held nothing but warmth for him. "What I feel for you," In said in almost of whisper. "H...How could I say that knowing I would have to leave this world..." She could hear his voice breaking; "How could I say the woman I fell in love with I had to leave her..."

Mirajane stifled a gasp, placing her hands over her mouth. Her eyes watered at his words, her heart was beating so fast she felt as though it might burst from her chest. Elation, sadness, and more mixed in a turbulent sea of emotions. "You... You love me?"

"How could I not?" He said it as though it was the most obvious thing. "You went out of your way to make me feel at home, whenever I felt down you always encouraged me, telling me I would find a way back. You were there for me every time I needed help when going through this crazy and amazing place, you and this awesome guild..." He lowered his gaze. "I didn't want to hurt you Mira, now when I have a place I must return too"

Slowly, Mira's bare feet took her till she was directly in front of the man who had become so important to her she did even realized when it happened. Neither spoke a word as cerulean and midnight blue gazed at each other. Her hands moved without thought as they held his whisker-marked cheeks. "...I don't care." As those words left her she kissed him.

This was a mistake, a huge terrible mistake that would only end up badly for them... But gods he wanted it, he needed it so much. Needed the comfort he felt whenever this wonderful woman was with him, wanted to experience more of the elation the feelings her lips touching with his brought him.

He returned the kiss with great intensity, his arms held her tightly as she pulled him closer by surrounding his neck with her arms.

Every second felt like an eternity, they passion which drove their lips increasing by the moment. The heat of their bodies, the need to feel each other even closer lead their mouths to open and their tongues to madly dance around each other.

They pulled away breathing heavily, leaning their foreheads against one another. "This is a mistake..." Naruto said.

"I know..."

"But gods I want it..."

"Me too" She whispered lovingly.

Their lips met again as hunger and passion surged through their bodies as Naruto's hands rose from Mira's waist to the straps of her dress. It was easy to slide off as it cascaded down to the floor, leaving the white haired beauty in nothing but her lacy blue bra and panties. His finger took the off the string that held her one bang up. "Never got why you did that" he said breathlessly as they kissed, she looked so beautiful with her hair down, so tantalizing.

The Strauss desperately grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, he lifted his arms to better help her, and she threw it over the couch. She ran her hands over his broad muscular figure, from his abs to his shoulders, savoring the feeling of finally having the body she had fantasized about beneath her finger tips.

Their lips clashed once more, she jumped unto him, wrapping her legs around his waist while he held her. They didn't know how, but at some point in their passionate frenzy they reached one of the bedrooms, they couldn't tell whose it was but they didn't care.

Mirajane giggled as she used a bit of her weight with Naruto's so she was on top. She straddled the blond's waist, their lips never parting. Expertly she took off her bra exposing herself to him; she felt a brief flash of embarrassment followed by arousal and anticipation. As far as Naruto was concerned, she was perfect.

Their lips parted as he gazed at her nearly naked form. Her body was well toned due to good exercise she did every morning. A well-toned flat stomach, her ample cleavage, her beautiful neckline, every inch of her was perfect in his eyes.

Mira lowered herself as their foreheads met. Their eyes showed nothing but passion and love for each other. Hungering for how long they had wanted this so badly.

XxX ~ Lemon start ~ XxX

Naruto marveled at the image of perfection before him. Her hair now fully loose, snow white locks cascaded down her back and in front of her chest, yet they did little to provide any form of modesty for her naked torso.

She was just, "Beautiful..." He whispered in nearly reverence. He moved to a sitting position so he could hold Mirajane in his arms, overcome by the need of being as close as physically possible.

Everything about her was a piece of art, crafted from fine marble. This body and enrapturing beauty that could only belong to an nymph, as her very curves seemed to sing to him, inviting him with promises of pleasure unlike any that could be found in the world. From her well-endowed perky breasts, her flat stomach, that very slim waist and glorious long legs, he couldn't find a single flaw in her. The fluster in her cheeks that look which screamed desire; those deep eyes were like pools in which he could drown if he wasn't careful. He could drown for all he cared.

The Strauss let out a pleased sigh when she felt the heat of his bare arms pulling her closer. The feeling of his hands wondering her body was intoxicating. It filled her with curiosity, the desire to answer in kind.

Her eager hands reached forward, exploring, discovering everything there was to touch. She ran her tongue over her dry lips as she dainty traced the edges of his body. She had always seen him from afar, whenever he trained, seen how his body moved and coiled, admired the work of his physique, the brief moments of closer proximity in which her curiosity could be further satiated were nothing compared to the access she now possessed.

Dainty hands wondered in amazement at the sheer hardness of his body, the sheers of training which had given him a fighter's strength. She traced down the eight magnificently shaped muscles of his stomach, the deep crevice between his strong chest, before admiring the muscles on his shoulders and the biceps which bulged out of his arms, none of the muscle groups would not budge no matter how much strength she applied on her hold.

She felt the lust for him become all the stronger, unconsciously she rocked her hips, grinding the hard erect member beneath his trunks with her wet folds which were still covered by her blue panties.

Mine, the darker more predatory part of her mind thought with hunger, all mine.

Naruto grunted in pleasure at the friction. He could not hold back his own want as he lunged for Mirajane's lips. Their lips clashes vigorously as their tongues danced upon each other with lust. His right hand wandered to her chest, feeling the soft yet firm mound of flesh beneath his palm, the erect knob of flesh pressing into it; he gave it a soft squeeze as he massaged it.

Mirajane moaned in pleasure, the heat of his touch was too much. When air was needed and they pulled away, he took his opportunity to trace his lips down her neck, briefly passing over her collar, which sends electric currents all over her spine, and settling on her breast.

Once more the Strauss moaned out, this time louder as Naruto capture inside his mouth an erect nipple. Sucking and softly nibbling it, spreading pleasure from her chest throughout her body.

His ministrations caused Mirajane's gaze to become clouded, a wild instinct and need overcame her. She pushed him down unto the bed and once more slammed her lips upon his. Like he had done before, she traced down a series of kisses from his jaw to his neck, taking her moment to slowly run her tongue over Naruto's muscular stomach.

Mirajane distanced herself from him a bit so she could have a better position. Her hand slipped inside his trunks, making Naruto moan as her fingers massaged his length. With her other hand she removed the trunks and threw them away, leaving the blonde completely naked.

The Strauss looked at his erection with a wicked smile, she wanted to make him beg, to be lost in the sea of pleasure she would inflict upon him. Naruto let out a sharp gasp when he felt something warm and wet began massaging the tip of his member, engulfing more of his length.

Mirajane's oral ministrations caused him to lose any semblance of focus, waves of pleasure surged throughout his body as his vision seemingly went white for a moment. She truly was a demon, making him succumb to her like this. Her wickedness was further proven when she removed her mouth from his erection and looked at him with an impish grin.

Naruto nearly growled. Shifting their positions, he placed her underneath him, and wasted no time to lower himself towards his target. He slowly removed the damp blue panties and took in the scent of her arousal. He restrained himself from claiming her right then and there, he need to take revenge first.

Mirajane gasped in pleasure, her hips shot upward but were stopped by Naruto's strong hold. She took a strong hold of the sheets and bit back a large number of curses. The blonde used his tongue to torture her just like she had tortured him. Her struggles to remain in control became even more difficult when he captured a sensitive node of nerves with his mouth.

She wanted to scream, telling him to continue, but she didn't want to admit defeat. She couldn't... They didn't know when this had turned into a competition, but their minds were too far gone to question it.

Naruto suddenly stopped his ministration and gave her the same smirk he had given her. He nearly laughed at the angry look on her face. Although he had leveled the playing field, he could not stop his own desire.

It was time to stop this game. He needed her, so badly, and he knew Mirajane needed him too. To feel each other closer than ever before, to finally share themselves completely to the other and further surrender to their feelings.

Naruto positioned himself so that he faced her entrance directly. He looked down and took hold of his erection. He grunted, gods he was painfully hard with wanton desire for her. He traced the lines of her folds, playing with her one last time.

Mirajane's pleasure filled heaves were a beautiful symphony. "I-I'm burning!" She gasped.

"Mira..." He grunted; he was burning too, he felt he might die.

"P-Please..." She begged with a long drawn out moan.

He softly gasped as he slowly entered her. The pleasure he had felt before barely compared to the sheer heat and stimulation her inner walls were providing. Naruto took a strong hold of her hips as he buried himself deeper with each thrust. Mirajane moaned loudly as his girth penetrated her, she rocked her hips along with his; soon both lost themselves in a sea of pleasure.

"Come closer" The Strauss asked of him, and Naruto was more than happy to oblige. He lowered himself so that he was on top her again, resting over his arms at her side, Mirajane ran her hands over strong muscles of his front before encircling his neck with her arms and pulling him closer.

They kissed great fervor and intensity. They smiled at each other; they were happy, so happy it came to this, of sharing themselves completely with the other.

"I love you..." He whispered.

"I love you too" She answered, her words were like audible gold, a treasure of immense worth.

Their lustful dance continued each second increasing in intensity. Both felt a pressure built up inside them, increasing their tempo even more to bring it closer.

"Mira..!" He grunted out, speaking her name like a prayer.

Mirajane moaned loudly, digging her nails into his broad strong back. "Don't stop..." She begged of him. "Don't stop..!"

The great build up suddenly burst in an unrelenting tide of ecstasy and euphoria. They cried out each other's names with their release.

XxX ~ lemon end ~ XxX

Mirajane sighed happily as she rested her head on Naruto's chest, her hand rested next to her face while one leg wrapped around his. Their bodies felt utterly depleted but they also have never felt more fulfilled and relaxed. "Well..." She started. "We just completely ruined our friendship"

Naruto pulled her closer. "You weren't complaining before"

She giggled. "True" Mira lifter her head as their eyes met; "And I never will regret it... If you find your way home and we never see each other again. I will always love you and find you in the next life. No matter how long it takes..."

Naruto smiled, he couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy. This amazing woman who made him forget about all his problems, he could make his heart flutter with just a smile and fill him with such joy he felt everything would be alright, he had found a place of comfort at her side. And even if live would eventually take them through different paths, he would never let go of this.

"Me too" He planted a kiss on forehead. "But let's not worry about that now ok?" He looked at her in the eye. "Just... let's be here and forget about everything" He leaned closer softly kiss her on the lips. "I love you"

She buried her face on his neck and smiled, feeling overjoyed. "I love you too"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Upon a nameless forest walked an old mage, dressed in long blue robes with golden linings, he carried a simple wooden staff which tapped the ground with each step. His long white hair and beard spilled out from his hood and over his chest.

A chuckle came from behind as a smooth baritone voice spoke; "Hello my old friend."

The elder mage froze as blue eyes widen. Slowly he turned as he felt a shudder comes from his lips seeing a very familiar white fox looking up at him. "Inali..." There was a crack in voice as he smiled. Not minding the tears forming in his eyes. "So what I felt was indeed real..."

Inali nodded, the vulpine smiled widely; "Yes old friend, I am back."

The old mage kneeled before the fox. "I thank all the spirits of nature for this miracle" He bowed his head low. "This humble servant of the world has done as he was commanded. For thousands of years in a thousand lifetimes I roamed the world as ordered, watching over its children" His voice was dripping with emotion, passion and loyalty were the most prevalent at the moment. "If you'll have me... I shall continue to serve"

The white fox closed his eyes. "Rise, Olórin. Such etiquette is not necessary between friends"

The elder mage raised his head to stare at the fox in surprise, but he soon smiled and rose. "You have no idea how good it is to see you old friend. How much it eases this old heart to see one of the Loa fully awaken into the world"

"I am glad that accursed sleep is over" Inali said as he walked over the mage. "I've kept a close eye to the ones I owe my return, little time have I had to check over the current affairs of the world" The fox sat on his hind legs and frowned. "Is it as bad as I feel it to be?"

"I am afraid so" Olórin shook his head remorsefully. "Few deities remain active in the world, and those who do are severely limited, their senses and state of consciousness restrained by remnants of the curse influencing them, even if only partially. Greater deities act only when necessary and even then I doubt the righteousness of some of them..."

"Hmm" The fox closes his eyes, contemplating his old friend's words before opening them once more and looking up to the moon. "The world is changing once again, the return of the gods is close... as well as the coming of foes and challenges for the world, both old and new"

"Let them try" Olórin banged his staff. "One way or another they will find us strong and resolute against all odds"

The fox god smiled. "But you will not be alone again my friend, neither you nor the world. Come" He walked forwards towards their new destination, the old mage following close behind, feeling an elation on his chest he has not felt since many, many ages ago.

The world had changed, for the better or worse, but something once lost had returned at last.

"Not all gods shall be as compassionate as my old comrades, and our return will invite more danger in the days to come, we must prepare for the coming awakenings. It is time we seek out and awaken our friends. Come; let us first seek out the daughters of Scathach"


	10. Lava and Fire

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or Fair Tail

Co-author &amp; Beta: Etheral-23

Lava and Fire

The morning rays slip through the tree leaves as the early humming of birds served as her alarm clock. The darkly tanned blonde woman smacks her lips as she slowly sits up, her mane of messy hair covering her eyes. She yawns as she scratches her head and stretches out her arms. Working out the cricks on her neck, she stands up from her sleeping bag, clad only in a white tank top which showed her midriff and a pair of white shorts.

Her attire reveals that her body was pretty muscular, very toned and broad figured, yet possessing still some womanly curves. She pretty much walks automatically over the long since doused campfire where a large piece of beef jerky on a bone still stood over a grill.

"Finally awake I see" Said another voice, appearing from within the trees of the forest. A small cat makes his way to the camp with a pile of fishes on his hands. At first glance he looks to be a tabby, but the orange of his fur plus his black stripes made him look like a tiger cub more than anything. His golden eyes stares as his companion sat in front of the campfire. He sweatdrops when she didn't wait for the fire to heat up the meat again, taking the beef jerky to her mouth looking like she still hadn't quite shrugged off the morning drowsiness. "Oi, you gonna eat that cold Atenea?"

The blonde woman pauses right before the meat touched her lips, she placed a hand on it and it suddenly began to heat up at great speed, quickly steaming like a recently made dish. Then she proceeded to chew on it.

The cat rolls his eyes. After placing the fish on the grill, he walked over their bags and pulls out a bottle of water; he throws it at his friend who caught it without looking. After swallowing the meat in her mouth, she proceeded to quickly drink the bottle's contents.

"Ahhhh;" She sighs in satisfaction, shaking her head back to clear to reveal her red eyes and a beaming smile. "Thanks Bishop!" She said before taking another big bite from the jerky.

"You know" The cat, Bishop, starts. "Most people start their day with coffee to wake up"

"Ah noft mfft pheophe" The muscular woman said with her mouth full. She swallowed and then spoke again. "I'm not most people"

_'Got that right,'_ the tiger tabby mentally grumbles. Still, he wouldn't trade her for anyone else partner wise. Someone had to be the voice of reason for his friend, may as well be him; "So... How more lost can we get before actually finding this dark guild we're hunting?"

The woman pouted at that; "We're not lost. I've got the best nose in the Sun Reavers, so I'm the best tracker in the guild."

"Whose been distracted by every scent in the area since coming here," Bishop retorts dryly.

"Hey it's not my fault this place is filled with so many tasty animals!"

"No, but it is your fault you took this job on your own instead without waiting for the others!"

"Oh please!" She waved him off with the beef jerky. "It's a simple job!"

Bishop stared at her with deadpanned look. "Really, finding the hideout of a Dark Guild full of alchemists who are creating monsters in droves is simple..?"

"It is when I'm on it"

Bishop did not even stop himself as he face palmed, being so simple and prideful at the same time she was, it could get on his nerves. Why was always getting them into trouble? "Can we at least not destroy this area like what happened with the last job? I couldn't tell if master was laughing or crying."

You really couldn't tell with him always wearing that armor.

The woman snorts as she chews down on her jerky. She would just kick some dark guild ass, maybe a few monsters they made and head home. The Lava Dragon Slayer always got the job done!

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Mirajane found herself waking up curled against something warm and hard. Her blurred vision slowly cleared up, revealing she was resting atop someone's chest.

Her lips slowly formed a content smile. _'Ah that's right...'_ The memories of last night came back like a flood. Imagines of passion and tender intimacy filled her heart with happiness.

She had no regrets; laying her heart bare to the man she had fallen in love with. Lifting her head she gazed at Naruto's sleeping face. Learning about the Kyuubi, and his feelings to her, she meant every word even if he does find his way back home. No matter how long it took she would find him again.

A low groan came from the blond Uzumaki as his eyelids slowly opened and cerulean and midnight blue gazed at the other; "Morning." Lifting his hand, he used a finger moving away a few strands on Mira's face; "How you feeling?"

"Amazing," she purred softly.

He leaned forward and kissed her, Mirajane answered in kind, bringing her hand over his neck as she felt his arms pulling her closer. "What time is it?" He asked.

"I don't know" She replied with a smile, she didn't care either.

She planted her lips over his again, softly, like they had all the time in the world.

"We should get up" He said in between kisses, though he didn't really mean it.

"Hmm" The Strauss moaned absently in reply.

"They'll be wondering at the guild what took us so long..."

XxX ~ lemon start ~ XxX

She moaned softly in their kiss. "What if I don't want to get up..?" She whispered hotly against his lips. Her head lowered as she kissed his jaw going lower until finding a sensitive spot on his neck. "I waited so long for us be like this… you'll forgive me if I don't plan on stopping soon"

He released a pleasurable sigh as her hand slowly traveled down his chest and over the hard ridges of his abs. Naruto gasped as her palm reached his member and slowly, agonizingly slowly, massage him. His half limp member quickly developed a hard erection.

"Ah!" He moaned. "Mira…"

She smirked at hearing her name. Mirajane took her time to worship the body of her lover, kissing that strong chest and the valley that was his stomach, every single part of him aroused her so much. "Does it feel good?" She said teasingly. "It's only fair payback…"

She slowly rose to straddle him, sucking in a sharp breath as her folds grinded against his muscular midsection, heat quickly spread from her core as her nipples became painfully hard. "Because of how…" Her voice was breathy, desperate.

The white haired beauty positioned herself over his waist, standing right above his erection. "Good…" And slowly lowered herself unto him; "Y-You..!" She gasped as his girth began stretching her inner walls.

Naruto grunted as he felt himself entering Mirajane slowly, his hands strongly grasped her waist and buttocks, guiding her descent. "Make me… feel..!" She cries out in pleasure.

She rides him with masterful movements of her hips, going up and down his member as each stroke sent waves of pleasure throughout their bodies. The blonde closes his eyes as he let the sensations drive him wild, the heat emanating from her as her wet folds wrapped themselves tighter around him. He moved her up and down, she was almost weightless.

Mirajane throws her head back and gasped, sweat pouring down from her body as the heated pleasure coming from Naruto's member penetrating her sends her into overdrive. Her hands went up to her breasts, bringer herself even more pleasure by massaging feeling the mounds of flesh and playing with her erect nipples.

Her hands soon went down her body, sending shivers of electricity as slowly brought them over to Naruto's. He was almost too hot to touch, but it only aroused her further, the feeling of his body under her, those strong muscles of his arms which held her so tightly.

"N-Naruto..!"

He swiftly sat as he heard her call her name, almost as if sent into a wild need to hold her even closer. Mirajane gasped when those strong arms she had previously admired now held her back tightly, her breasts pressed against a muscular chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer so their lips would meet in a mad dance. He thrusted forward, meeting her gyrating hips, burying himself as deep as he could.

A sudden buildup announced them the critical point was near. Mirajane gasped into Naruto's ear. "I-I'm gonna… Ugh!" She closed her eyes tightly trying to hold back the sudden surge. The blonde too felt it coming, his thrust became erratic. His heart beat so fast he thought it might burst.

Mirajane's mouth opened in a silent cry as her head and column arched back. "Oh gods..!" The dam was broken, and so her release marched unimpeded, pleasure exploded from within. Naruto grunted as he felt himself spill inside her, he held her tightly as the two rode out the orgasm.

Mira breathlessly smiled, her eyes half lidded she leaned down kissing him; "Oh we're not done yet" She rested her sweaty forehead on his.

The blond only smiled hungrily; "Oh no, we're not..."

XxX ~ lemon end ~ XxX

People were starting to get a bit worried at Fairy Tail. It was nearly noon and neither Naruto nor Mira had come in like everyone else. Levy, being the good friend she is took over serving drinks.

At the bar, Lucy kept glancing at the open door of the guild. Makarov only snorted, sitting at his usual spot; "They will fine child. Those two are adults after all and quite responsible-_ish_."

Sitting at a table with Gray and Natsu who were currently arm wrestling, Erza also looked a touched worried; "They are not ones to be late, Mira especially master." Happy nodded in agreement, replying with a muffled 'aye' as he ate a fish.

"We all need some time to ourselves once in a while," the old mage waved it off.

As if on cue, Mirajane came in through the door. "Sorry I'm late everyone!" She apologized with a sunny smile. Thankfully she had agreed that she and Naruto were going to appear at different times as not to arouse any suspicions, they didn't want to tell anyone just yet. This was something private they didn't feel like advertising, even to the guild. "Got caught up with some things at home" She explained as she went behind the bar.

"Where's Naruto?" Erza asked, looking up from Natsu's and Gray's match, ignoring how the mix of cold and heat was creating a large puddle around the table.

"Oh he's off doing training. Some of that sage stuff"

"Huh" The Titania replied in understanding.

Unbeknownst to the others, Claire's ears twitch as she sniffed. This wasn't her elven senses, oh no, this was sixth sense developed through centuries of experience. Ohohoho, someone had a bit of afterglow clinging to her~

Ohhhh she was going to have so much _fun_ teasing those two.

Macao, from his place on the stool, noticed something about Mirajane today. "Oh hey you got rid of that crop in your hair"

Mirajane's hand quickly went up to her forehead, and noticed her usual front ponytail wasn't present. She silently cursed, lamenting that she had forgotten. Why did she forget?! She literally did her hair every day! Oh right, cause she and Naruto had been caught up in the shower.

Wakaba puffed out some smoke from his pipe before holding it away from his lips. "Well I think you look good" He smiled. "'Bout time you got rid of that ridiculous thing"

"...'Ridiculous'?" She repeated in a somewhat wounded tone.

The smoke mage froze and a various glares were sent his way. "Ehhhhh..."

"Did... Did it really not suit me?" She wondered. After all this time...

Wakaba remained silent for a moment before he sighed; "Okay, already crossed that line might as well go through with it. Yes" He said directly to her. "It did not suit you"

"Wakaba!" Macao chastised him.

"Oh come on people, we ALL thought it"

The Fairies suddenly found any other sight that wasn't meeting Mirajane's gaze to be very interesting. "Ehhhhh..." They mumbled as they collectively scratched the back of their heads.

"Why did no one tell me?!" She cried out waving her arms childishly.

"Well" Makarov shrug uncomfortably. "You're very sensitive and we didn't want to hurt your feelings"

Mirajane's lip quivered. "N-No I'm not..."

"Yo!" Everyone shifted their gaze seeing Naruto walk in with a waving hand; "After training, a black cat crossed my path so walked around Magnolia several times and got lost on the road of life."

The blond swore he felt Kakashi-Sensei screaming happily up to the heavens and say 'I GOT ONE!'

Both Natsu and Gray both stopped their match as they dryly looked over to their blond friend; "Dude that was so lame." Claire only kept smirking while watching.

Sitting at the bar beside Lucy, he ruffled/patted her hair which earned a light smack from the buxom blond. "What's got you in such a good mood?" The Celestial Mage wondered as she put her hair back in order.

"Well" Carefully masquerading the real reason of his cheerful mood, he came up with a vague yet honest answer that would warrant no questions. "During training I realized a few things"

"Like?" She asked.

Naruto froze; clearly he had not thought that one through. "...Personal things"

"Okay..." Lucy slowly said.

Mirajane only gave her lover a dry look as he sheepishly chuckled. Claire only tilted her head; "It must have been a vigorous training session. Did you get all that built up tension out?"

"Uh, yeah," Naruto said simply.

"Hmm," the elf tapped her chin playfully. Why did neither Mira and Naruto like that look on their friend's face? "Hmhmhm" Claire chuckled, tucking a dark lock behind an ear as her green eyes stare at them. No, it was like she was looking right through them. "I imagine. All the sweating and panting, it must have been quite the... release" She finished with sultry tone.

Oh gods, she knows. Both Naruto and Mirajane realized with dread. Of course the sexaholic elf would know; she must be a bloodhound when it comes to carnal pleasures...

"Do you train with him often Mira?" The elf asked.

"Eh?" The Strauss replied intelligently.

"I'm just curious to how much he... works you up"

"Mira does do causal exercising with Naruto occasionally, just like I do" Erza, thank the gods, came for the save. Although blissfully ignorant on what Claire was hinting on about.

The redhead soon squeaked as Claire came from behind hugging her; "OH it that why you're so sweaty some mornings? Our hottie of a foxy sage just giving you such a thorough and vigorous workout leaving you so breathless…"

"Get off me you harlot!"

Both Naruto and Mirajane blushed wildly at their elven friend's antics. A blushing Lucy only sighs; "I am never getting to use to her."

After winning his arm-wrestling competition with Gray –'It was a draw!' The Ice Mage kept shouting-; Natsu looked over the jobs board.

Naruto sweatdropped. "You're looking for a job again, man?" It wasn't that long ago since they went to Garuda, but Natsu seemed to run on endless energy.

"'Course I am!" He replied with his typical smile. "Mainly something with big monsters to beat up, I'm running low on meat back in my house"

Quite a few of his guild mates stared at him in silence for a few seconds. "Natsu, honey" Cana started slowly. "Do you always get your food out of the things you kill?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't you, I dunno" The card mage shrugged. "BUY it with the money you earn?"

Natsu whines broadly. "What's the fun in that?"

"...Alright, fine" Cana said, going back to her mug. "I'm not even gonna try to understand his logic"

Makarov snorted; "Safer for your sanity that way," he muttered while downing a mug.

"OH" The dragon slayer pulls off a paper; "How about this one!"

Naruto and Lucy both look at the paper; "Alchemists making monsters," both blonds spoke up. Lucy looked at the reward; "Seven hundred thousand!"

Gray whistles; "Has to be bad for that kinda cash to thrown out. Where is this going on?"

"Veor Valley" Natsu read. "Hmm, think that's north of here"

The Master nods. "About a day or two walk" He explains. "Not really anything special. The place is not visited that much aside from nearby settlements, if a Dark Guild is smart they can make a good hiding place among forests and mountains"

"If dark mages are creating monsters then they need to be stopped immediately" Erza said in a determined tone. "I'm going"

"Me too!" Natsu said excitedly.

"Well" Gray added with a small smile. "Can't leave you guys alone, now can I?"

The Celestial mage looks at the elf and the sage. "Are you coming too?"

Naruto looked to Mira who gives a nod; "Yep, might as well keep an eye on Natsu."

"HEY!"

"...I like Veor valley," Claire said as had a look of nostalgia. She stands up; "I'm going."

Seeing those two coming along Lucy sighs; "Alright guess I'll tag along."

"Everyone pack up supplies, we're going camping," Erza stated as she walked beside Naruto out of the guild.

"Would it be too much to hope Natsu does not blow the valley up," Naruto mutters. The beautiful knight only shook her head; "I thought so."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They had managed to catch a train that would leave them a few miles away from the Valley, but they still had properly prepared themselves for camping, seeing the valley was of a relatively large size it could take time for them to find the Dark Guild.

"Are we there yet?" Natsu groaned.

"No" The group droned tiredly.

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"No..."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!" They all shouted at once, finally silencing him.

Or so they thought. "We're there!" Natsu smiled toothily. He pointed forward and so the team saw he was right. Right up ahead was a sign with the words 'Veor Valley' written on it.

The valley itself wasn't really something to talk about. A couple of mountain ranges and plenty of forests, but there was nothing special about it as their master had said. And the place's natural beauty was far outshined by that of other natural beauties and landscapes one could find in other parts of Fiore. The trees all looked pretty much the same, and there was little to no flora or interesting fauna present around the area. All in all, Veor valley simply didn't have anything that would make it a popular place.

The only thing that stood out was the sudden increase of various monsters rooming around the area.

A good place for a Dark Guild hiding.

"So" Grey started. "The job said there were alchemists making monsters around here" He looked around, on the lookout for any such beasts that might suddenly appear out of nowhere.

"Oh great, mad scientists..." Oh Naruto was so done with that shit; he had had enough with Orochimaru back in his world.

The elven woman gave a light smile; "Just like I remember." Everyone looks at her; "When I was Romeo's age my father and I came here hunting for days." She soon frowned; "I won't have some idiots defile this place."

Naruto patted his friend's back as they soon got off the train. Lucy held Plue in her arms; "Okay so what next?"

"We go hunting. Find a trail and track it," Erza said looking around sharply.

Happy flew… happily around them; "Time to go monster hunting."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The young Sennin had to admit this place almost felt like the forest back home around his village. It had a soft sense of peace and serenity, though nothing really stood out from it. Claire seemed oddly both serious and sentimental walking through the valley.

The elf kept watching through the tree lines, searching intently for the people responsible for the problems going around the area. A lot fond memories she shared with her father here, this was a very important place for him, she was not about to have some jackasses taint this place; for any reason.

Natsu... "Oh this place has some awesome smells around here. Can we go hunting after this?"

"...Of course you would think with your stomach," Lucy sighs.

"Smells really nice" The blue cat admitted, flying around the tree-line. "But besides that, man, this place is boring" Happy commented disinterestedly.

"Oh big time" Claire agrees with a wide smile. "But if your nose is good enough, you can pick up some awesome stuff to track. The game here may not be a lot, but it's good"

"Quality over quantity huh?" The knight absently commented. The elf nods, someone was getting it.

This place was too quiet for his liking, so Naruto placed buried a kunai against a tree and leant his ear closer. His gaze narrowed when he felt the vibrations.

"You guys feel that?" He prompted, making everyone stop what they were doing.

The Dragon Slayer frowned and knelt, pressing his head against the ground. "Something's near..." He took a sniff in the air. "But I can't smell it"

"Maybe it's the smells of this place that's masking it for you" The Ice Mage tried to rationalize.

"Could be..." Natsu didn't sound so sure. "But I am not hearing anything either" That's what was putting him on edge. "The vibrations are getting stronger too" But he didn't hear any footsteps, he didn't smell anything getting close either.

That didn't sit well for the Titania. So Naruto and Natsu were feeling something but they didn't couldn't make it out. Just what was- The sudden and barely perceived tremor they felt alerted her immediately.

"Bellow us!" The knight shouted. Everyone stared down as the ground began trembling, it got stronger with each passing second. They quickly moved out of the way just in time for the ground to burst open and something came out from underneath the earth.

"...What am I looking at?" The ice mage muttered with wide eyes.

Whatever it was, it was giant, furry and brown. It could have passed for a mole... if not for the razor sharp teeth in its mouth and the moving tendrils on its snout. Or the bony carapace on its back. Or the multiple eyes on its head.

"Oh gods" Naruto felt sick. "Are those whiskers or tentacles..?"

The Celestial Mage screeched. "Why does that thing have eight eyes?!"

The elf had to blink once, twice. "Well, I think this is a clear case of alchemy gone bad..."

"Hmm" The Dragon Slayer look indecisive. "I kinda don't want to eat something looking like that, but you know what they say; 'Don't judge a book by its cover'"

"DON'T GUESS HOW IT TASTES! KICK IT'S BUT Al-" Lucy squeaked as a tendril grabs her and pick up her up into the air; "HELP ME!"

"Let our friend go you fiend!" Erza drew her swords as she charged.

Using the trees, with chakra applied to his feet, Naruto threw several kunai at the tentacle mole monster. The kunai bounced off its think hide.

**"You should have opened with a Rasengan"** The Nine Tails informed.

"I should have opened with a Rasengan" Naruto was quick to admit it.

"Get me out of here!" Lucy screeched. "These things are moist! Why are they so moist?!"

Ugh, this was the grossest thing that ever happened to her, there was no way it could get worse... It suddenly got worse when the mole-thing opened its maw to devour her.

Lucy screamed as she was brought closer to the sharp teeth, but then the reason behind her shouts became her falling to the ground.

The tendrils were somehow severed in one swift move, she could feel and see the severed appendages burning, and like what ever had cut them had intense heat. At first she thought it was Natsu's doing, but then saw a figure standing in midair before the monster.

"RAAAAH;" A devastating kick was thrown at the mole's snout, such ferocity and power it carried the monster's neck twisted with horrifying sound of bones snapping. Its head turned into a painful angle, and slowly fell backwards to the ground, the collision made the earth tremble.

Lucy landed safely, cushioned by the tendrils still wrapped around her. "Lucy!" Erza cried out as she severed the appendages with her blade, releasing her. "Are you okay?" She offered her friend a hand to stand up.

"I-I am..." She said, slowly standing up with her help.

Gray narrowed his eyes. "Who is that?"

**"Hmm"** The fox mused inside Naruto. **"She feels like your pink haired friend"**

That made Naruto pause, like Natsu? What was he talking about?

The Dragon Slayer for his part blinked, he sniffed the air a couple of time. That smell...

The figure lands atop the fallen beast. "HAHAHA..!" The voice was clearly a woman's, she was laughing in celebration. "Just one punch..? Man, you were a disappointment!" She proclaims to the corpse. Turning around, red eyes stared at the group of strangers. "Sup!" She grinned widely.

The woman is blonde, her hair wild with the lower portion held on a low ponytail. She wore a set of leather armor, a chest piece with strips akin to a kilt, metal bracers on her arms and legs along with sandals. On one shoulder she had a single shoulder pad, while the right shoulder was bare, revealing a tribalistic yellow sun on her tanned skin.

The woman, as Naruto noticed, was tall. Hell she was probably as tall as he was. She was also ripped as hell. He found it a bit odd as all the women he's met in his life, even the warriors, possessed figures that could be compared to supermodels and the like, so he supposed he was sorta used to it, perhaps he even expected it by this point.

Not this woman, her build was tall and highly toned, possessing highly defined muscle groups with a musculature even broader than Natsu's. Yet somehow she managed to possess some womanly curves.

"Ohhhh" Their resident elf and professional pervert immediately looked at her with starry eyes. "That tan, the clothes and those muscles~" She purred. "She's from Callisto"

That made Lucy blink and turn to her. "Wait, the island of amazons?"

The woman gave a big toothy smile much reminiscent to a certain pink haired fellow they know; "that's right, names Atenea of the Sun Reavers guild!"

"Sun Reavers?" Erza repeated. "I see; you're a member of Master Solaris's guild then"

"You guys from Fairy Tail?" The amazon observed the visible symbols some of the mages were displaying. "Cool! Master Solaris said tons of good things about you!"

"That's a first…" The knight muttered dejectedly. She cleared her throat and gave the tanned woman a friendly smile. "Master Makarov has said great things about you guys as well"

"Hehe, course he did!" Atenea smirks proudly. "Ain't anyone better than us!"

They expected Natsu to protest, loudly, at that claim. His pride for their guild burned like his flames.

But he… was currently acting strange. He just stood there with a strange expression on his face.

Natsu kept looking at her with a confused stare. There was something about her he couldn't quite explain.

The amazon looked at the pink haired boy with a raised eyebrow. "What, I have something on my face?" Her eyes slowly widened as she sniffed. She walked closer to the energetic young man, casting a contrast to how tall she was, and sniffed the air around him.

Natsu soon did the same, making the other sweatdrop at the sight. "What" Gray deadpanned; "They gonna sniff each other's' butts next?"

Atenea looked at him in confusion. "Do I... know you?"

"I don't think so" He shrugged. "But you... I don't know, you kinda smell familiar"

"Yeah..." She slowly nodded. That felt very strange.

It hit Natsu like a thunderbolt. "You smell a dragon"

That made his friends gasp. Could it be..?

"You too" Atenea softly whispered before her lips twisted into a large toothy smile. "Are you… Are you a Dragon Slayer like me?"

That made the rest of the Fairies pause for a moment. "YOU'RE A DRAGON SLAYER!?" The sheer impossibility of the situation fell on them like a ton of bricks. They could believe they were meeting someone like Natsu.

"There you are," a tiger stripped tabby flew with white wings before landing on Atenea's shoulder; "You ran so fast I couldn't keep up."

Happy gawked; "A talking cat!" That earned two dry looks from Naruto and Lucy.

"...Never looked yourself in the mirror, huh genius?" The tabby retorts sarcastically; "Call me Bishop."

"Hey, hey, Bishop;" She calls to him like an excited child. "He's a Dragon Slayer!" She points at the pinkette.

"Huh, how about that. You don't see that every-EHHHHHH?!" The cat did a comical double take.

The muscular woman ignored his stupor in order to focus on her fellow Slayer. "What's your element?"

"I'm fire!" Natsu proclaims proudly. "What's yours?!"

"Lava!"

"No way, that's so cool!"

The Fairies plus Atenea's companion could only stare. "Anyone else feeling a deja vu here?" Gray remarks.

"Hey, hey" Natsu looks like he was about to bounce on his feet. "Were you raised by a dragon too?"

"Hell yeah," She grins toothily. "But..." It soon shrunk. "He just... disappeared one day. I don't know what happened to him"

"My dad disappeared too" Natsu said in sympathy, understanding her perfectly. "I have no idea where he went"

"Volcanus didn't tell me anything, one day I wake up and suddenly he wasn't there anymore"

"Same for me" This was beyond weird. "What's up with that?"

The buff amazon scratches the back of her head. "You think it was related?"

"I don't know" He shrugs. "I'm still looking for Igneel though" Natsu soon grins a smile full of cheer of hope. "But I'm gonna find him one day. I wanna show him how badass my magic got!"

The Lava slayer couldn't help but find his optimism contagious. "Hehehe" She closed her eyes and grinned. "Yep, one day Imma show my dad I can take him on anytime!"

Both Naruto and Gray look at each other; "Natsu clone," both mutter. The thought sent a wave of terror down their spine. Dear gods, one was bad enough!

Atenea claps her hands; "Well my guess you guys came for Alchemist assholes causing a mess around here yeah?"

"Yes," Erza gives a nod.

The lava dragon slayers smacks her fist into her palm; "Awesome!"

"Extra pair of eyes and noses could help," Bishop offered.

"Oh hell no," She exclaimed with irritation.

"Wha-," Her partner gawked at her sudden shift.

"Uhhhh" Lucy didn't know what to say at that.

"I said awesome because I thought that meant I get to fight them for the job!"

She got incredulous stares all around, well except for Natsu. "Makes sense to me"

Naruto chuckled nervously. "H-Hey ain't any need for us to fight. We can work together and-"

She directed her red eyes threateningly at them. "I'm gonna find that Dark Guild all by myself and beat the crap of every single person there!" She smirked savagely. "I got the job first and I'm getting all the fun. So if any of you wanna claim the glory, you're gonna have to go through me first!"

The tabby cat face palmed so hard it could leave a mark. "Do you ever hear yourself talk?!"

"'Course I do. I have a wonderful singing voice!" She smiled.

"...Crap, you do" Bishop admitted before looking at her in disbelief. "But why are you trying to pick a fight with them?!"

"They look strong" She shrugged, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I want a good match today"

"Hmm I can give you a good match~" The elf suddenly was next to the amazon, placing slender hands on the Slayer's strong biceps. "Oh honey, I could write poems about your body"

Her friends winced as seeing the Elf locked into a very painful backbreaker; "Not the kind of match I was thinking..!" Claire strains.

Bishop only sighed; "Here we go again..."

"Okay, whose ass do I kick first," Atenea threw Claire back to the Fairy crew, with Naruto catching the elf with one hand without really looking at her.

Natsu gave a wide savage smile; "Oh I'll take you on," Flames burst from his fists.

"Why do I feel this will end badly?" Lucy doing a very Naruto-like squint.

"Because it will…" The male blonde dryly replied before letting the elf fall painfully to the ground.

The Slayers did not waste any time, they charged at each other with great force. They raised their forearms clashed, and their skin shined with the sheer heat emanating from them.

A gust of wind was released from their collision, and it hit the spectators' faces with intense heat.

"Oh man…" Naruto swiped the quickly gathering sweat of his forehead with his hand. He took off his cloak, having the strong feeling that things would only escalate. "Gray could you-"

The ice mage did not wait for the petition to be made, and with a quick movement of his hands he surrounded the area around them with ice. "Ahhhhh" Naruto sighed in relief now that he felt the air around them cooling. "Thanks man"

"So" The tabby cat started. "Is yours as hard headed as mine?"

"Oh you have no idea" Erza said in exasperation.

"Then we'll be here for a while"

Lava and Fire Slayers began trading blows at great speed, making it look like they had multiple arms. Natsu kicked her left side, but to his surprise she grabbed his legs. Atenea spun him around and threw him away.

The Fairy quickly regained his balance and landed in a crouch. He lifted his gaze and looked at her with a savage grin. The Reaver charged at him, while Natsu got to his feet and prepared himself. The amazon raised a fist and struck, but the Fire Slayer ducked and delivered a sweeping kick at her legs, making her fall face first to the ground.

Taking his chance, Natsu quickly moved after her. But suddenly Atenea planted her hands on the ground and lifted her feet. She pushed herself from the earth and delivered a painful double kick at Natsu's face. The Fairy reacted fast enough to block the kick with his forearms, his bones vibrated painfully at the impact.

Atenea did not relent, and spun her legs in air akin to a breakdance move, hitting his defense repeatedly, slowly forcing him to take a step back. She flipped back to a standing position threw right hook directly at his exposed stomach.

Natsu's instincts warned him and quickly deflected the strike with left hand. Atenea did not stop and followed with a left punch. The Fire Slayer defended himself by blocking it with his right. The amazon quickly tried to need him but Natsu back away and took advantage of a short opening by kicked her left side.

Atenea gasped as the pain expanded through her midsection. She gnashed her teeth and her red eyes looked at her opponent with fury. The Reaver saw him directing a fist straight for her face, but she dodge and leant forward, she could see the surprise in his eyes at her sudden move, and quickly slammed her fist on his abdomen.

Natsu cough with spit flowing from his mouth. The two quickly pushed each other away, gaining distance so they could recover their breaths and fight the pain away.

The Fire Dragon Slayer coughed repeatedly, he took in deep breaths as he cleaned the saliva from his mouth. While the Lava Slayer hissed as she tenderly touched the left side of her abdomen, it felt like he had hit her with a piece of pure metal. The Slayers looked at each other once more, green eyes meeting red… and each smirked a fanged grin.

"You're pretty good" She said with a heavy tone.

"Hehehe, I like your style" He complimented right back. He stretched so the pain would spread and lessen. "Fighting you is turning out to be really fun"

"I'm enjoying myself a lot too" Atenea said with sincere joy. "But we both know we're just getting started.

Their grins became savage, draconic one could say.

"I'm all fired up…"

"My blood is boiling…"

Neither Uzumaki nor Fullbuster hide their twitching eye and dull/dry expressions while observing the dragon slayers duking it out. "Even a cheesy one-liner," the ice mage drawls.

"Either we found Natsu's long lost sister or some mad scientist felt Earthland needed two Natsu's but one as a female," the sage dryly retorts.

Claire sighs blissfully as she watches the amazon woman fighting, she very much enjoyed the sight of her muscles flexing and swelling with each movement; "Ah the isle of Callisto. Remarkable place, amazing culture, and the women are fantastic," she cooed.

The celestial mage deadpans at the elf while Erza watches with Bishop standing beside her; "Sorry about all this. Atenea really can't help herself."

"Its fine," The Titania shook her head; "Natsu is the same unfortunately."

"He causes mass chaos wherever he goes?"

"Yep," All the fairies speak up.

Natsu and Atenea tightened their right fists respectively. The Fairy's hand was shrouded in flames, while the Reaver's was submerged into a boiling substance. It was a mixture of bright red, yellow and dark brown in color, shifting like liquid and moving slowly, in contrast with the violent flame searing on the rosette's palm.

They grinned, and charged at each other. Their fists collided in a blast of pure heat, waves of fire spiraling around Natsu while torrents of pure lava surged from Atenea's fist. The clash of magic created waves of wind filled with scorching heat to be released.

The grass around them was immediately burnt to cinders; the trees in close proximity dried up and were on the verge of catching fire. The wind hit Gray's ice dome and began melting it, through the cracks and leaks the spectators experienced firsthand a fraction of the hotness of their clash.

Naruto started sweating heavily once more. "Holy fuck…"

"I think" Erza panted as she shifted into cooler clothes, which was a bikini and a beach skirt enchanted to resist heat. "We should move further back…"

No one argued, and so they quickly retreated through an ice path Gray built. Erza had already sweated quite a bit, which draw the eye of the blonde sage, despite his attempts not to ogle.

Seeing her sweat making her body glisten, the bland shakes his head furiously.

Their fists shook as they pushed against each other with all their might. Green and red eyes were locked on each other as they grinned savagely at their respective opponent. The heat of their elements clashing could not compare to the raging inferno they were feeling on their souls, hammering at their chest with each beat of their hearts, the sheer excitement at fighting someone so similar.

No, it was more than outward similarity in terms of their power and attitude. With their clash they began to think at the same wavelength, and so they realized their souls burned with the same fiery passion for combat, a desire to prove themselves, to become stronger and seek ever greater even challenges.

No words were needed; they let their fists do the talking.

Separating for just a moment, they gathered more power in their fists; each held a raging inferno in their hands.

"**Fire Dragon's**…"

"**Lava Dragon's**…"

They jumped at each other, their faces twisted into sheer joy and determination.

"**Iron Fist!**"

"**Eruption Fist!**"

Their fists clashing was like the collision of two meteors, with destruction and flames spiraling out of control as the ground beneath them cracked with the forced and lava began filling in. While the trees were set ablaze, the closest ones were reduced to black chars, while those further back were thrown with the expansive wave of their clash.

The others had to take refuge at a good distance away; Gray hastily summoned multiple layers of ice to block the flaming threes coming their way along with the chunks of molten earth spilling close.

Natsu and Atenea entered a barrage of swift strikes, their natural resistance allowed them to withstand each other's elemental charged punches and kicks. Their bodies glistened with intense heat.

The pinkette kicked her away, sending her skidding across the ground. Her hand clawed at the earth to stop her movement, reducing stone and soil into a red sludge. Swaths of fire gathered inward on Natsu's fist and thrust his hand forward, firing a large stream of flames directly at her.

Atenea growled and hit the earth with all her strength, the ground crumbled and a wall of magma erupted from beneath, which shielded her from the flames which spilled around the edges of her defense. Her red eyes narrowed as the flames while deflected by her lava, were not consumed by it as they should had. Natsu's magical power was sure impressive. It only made her blood boil even more.

The Fairy towards her, but the Reaver was already expecting it. She raised her leg high and stomped the ground with such force it trembled. The earth before her softened into sludge soon became lava. Yet Natsu did not relent.

He jumped over the molten rock, shrouding his feet in flames and proceeded to skid over the highly heated rock with great dexterity, propelling himself with the flames at his heels.

The move was so insane, Atenea loved it. With a savage grin she crossed her arms over her chest and then lifted them up with a grunt. The molten ground trembled and boiled violently, geysers of pure lava erupted in perfect pillars, but Natsu was able to carefully avoid them with great speed.

He kept his charge forward towards her when a pillar suddenly erupted before him, too close for him to dodge. The Lava Slayer grinned in victory, but her smile was obliterated when from within the pillar the Fire Slayer emerged, shrouded in his signature element which had shielded him from the molten rock.

He jumped to deliver a devastating downward kick at the amazon, but Atenea raised her right arm, forming a shield of hardened around her limb to defend herself. Even as flames spiraled out of control and the ground went wild, neither did relent.

But suddenly Atenea thrust her palm downward, causing another eruption to occur right beneath her opponent. Natsu shouted in surprise as he was sent flying away back.

The amazon did not wait until he was back on the ground. She buried her fingers on the lava, this one quickly hardened, and pulled. She growled with extreme exertion, throwing her head back as she did so. The muscles of her arms bulged as reins rose. The group was tore apart as she dragged out a huge chunk of heated rock which was at least ten times larger than her.

Natsu stood yet in the air, staring with a gaping mouth as she flung the entire thing at her. The lava spilling form its crack and the heat radiating from it made it looks like a meteor going up.

The Fairy smirked at the challenge.

Rather than try to dodge it or destroy it, Natsu charged directly at it, propelling himself with flames coming from his feet. He planted his palms on it and pushed, using as much thruster power as he could generate. He intended on returning Atenea's present to her.

The Lava Slayer could only smile with wild excitement, she stomped her feet on the ground and spread her arms. "Come on!"

The huge chunk of rock was within reach, and so she firmly planted her burning fists over it. Each opponent pushed from their side as much as they could. Sweat dripped from their foreheads as they felt their limps be taken to the limit.

Yet neither would relent, it wasn't in their nature to do so. So instead they poured even more strength into it.

"RAAAAAH!" They let out two draconian roars filled with their determination.

The flames on Natsu's feet exploded with great intensity, as lava flowed from every pore Atenea's body. The earth underneath cracked from the sheer pressure.

The rock began shining brightly as even more fissures began forming on its surface, from the half closest to Natsu, flames raged from under its surface, while in Atenea's half torrents of lava erupted.

Erza's eyes widened as she understood what was going to happen. "Naruto, reinforce Gray's ice now!"

The blonde didn't need to be told twice, in the blink of an eye he placed his hands on the multiple layers of ice and immediately lettering began appearing in complicated segments and arrays, trying to enhance the substance's strength and durability as much as possible.

The great rock exploded.

Pieces of rock flew everywhere like meteors in a great shower of fire. The moment they collided with the ground they tore it apart, the ones that clashed against the ice barrier managed to dent it slightly, as well as causing some cracks to form and sections of it to slowly turn into water. They sighed in relief, it would have been far worse had Naruto reinforced their only protection against their fight.

"T-Those two are out of control…" Lucy stammered.

"Natsu plus a female Natsu fighting equals disaster…" Was Gray's opinion on the matter, it was a very apt one in that regard.

"Look at them" Happy pointed with his paw, the two currently laid on opposite sides of a field that had been destroyed beyond recognition. There was no evidence to suggest the area around them had been anything more than a natural disaster. Both Slayers were face down on the ground, but their forms twitched as they tried to stand.

The elf's green eyes widened "They're still going?" Her ears dropped as she sweatdropped. "Gods, I think these two might be the most stubborn people I've ever met" And considering her age and the kind of people she's met, that said a lot.

"This is one of the coolest fights I've seen" Naruto's inner child couldn't help but watch on in enjoyment of the pure destructive awesomeness of it all.

On the battlefield, Atenea dragged her face up to stare at her opponent. She panted, grinning all the same. "Giving up?"

Natsu answered in kind. "As if"

The two grunted as they stood up on shaky legs. They were tired; their bodies were driven to the limit. But they wanted more, they needed to fight more.

They just need more energy, just something that could refuel them and…

It was then that Natsu paid attention to the lava on the ground, and Atenea spotted some chunks of rock set ablaze with the Fire Slayer's element.

They grinned and dug in. Natsu slurped on the lava as one would a soup, while Atenea inhaled so strongly that the flames around her went straight to her mouth.

"O-Oi!" Bishop looked on startled. "Are they actually-"

"-eating each other's elements" Erza finished for him with a narrowed gaze.

"Wait" Gray said in shock. "Can Slayers eat other elements?"

"I am not sure" The knight confessed. "But their elements are so similar it might have the same effect"

Naruto's excitement quickly diminished as he realized something. "Oh boy… we better run"

"Why?" Lucy asked slowly, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"If things were bad before, they're about to get ten times worse"

Natsu and Atenea finished with their meal, their hairs casted a shadow over their eyes as they stood perfectly still. Then they laughed. And their bodies began to emit auras of pure concentrated hot magic.

"Man!" The amazon licked her lips. "Your fires taste good!" She flexed her arms and watched the bicep raise, enjoying the energy coursing through her every muscle. "It's awesome!"

"Hehehe!" Natsu grinned toothily at her. "Ain't never tried lava before, super tasty!" He tightened his fists and rolled his necks, satisfyingly popping some knots. "So, you wanna finish this?"

"Finish this?" She asked incredulously. "I want to fight you forever" Atenea shrugged as she smiled with mirth. "But then we won't know who the winner is"

The Fire Slayer nodded. "My feeling's exactly"

The prelude was done, now was time for the climax.

They each took a deep breath, gathering as much magic in their bellies as they could

"**Fire Dragon's…**"

"**Lava Dragon's…**"

Magic circles appeared before them, and so they unleashed everything that made them who they were, pouring all their passions, their desires, and their will to fight.

"**ROAR!**"

Two titanic streams of wrath of nature collided, and there was only light and noise.

The spectators looked on from a hill as a great sphere of light rose higher and higher into the air, consuming everything on their path. The earth was violently ripped apart as lava came in waves; the swaths of fires incinerated the trees on their paths.

"…Wwwwwoah!" Was the only thing Naruto could say, the others nodded numbly.

The light soon dissipated… to show the two Slayers locked in a clash of extremely fast strikes.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Gray shouted. "How much more are they gonna fight?!"

Erza looked on to the sky to see the sun reaching its apex, indicating it was midday. "Hopefully not much longer"

XxX ~ Hours later ~ XxX

Erza tiredly look at the purple sky, at the horizon there was a line of orange as the sun slowly set. Naruto yawned loudly, smacking his lips and scratching his head. On the distance they still heard the sounds of fighting.

Lucy tiredly lay on the ground with the ever shaking Plue in her arms. "How much longer can they go..?"

Claire nearly dozed off when her ears picked something strange. "Listen" She stood up abruptly. "They stopped…"

Her words made the others snap out of their tiredness and look at each other. Without wasting another second, they quickly walked down the hill and unto the massively destroyed field.

As they approached, they saw the figures of Natsu and Atenea, both completely still but each had their fists buried in each other's cheek.

"N-No way…" Gray couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Both Slayers had their eyes closed, a bubble coming from their noses while their mouths opened and closed in snores.

"THEY FELL ASLEEP?!"

**"I don't think you're too far off on that clone thing brat,"** The Bijuu King mutters dryly; **"Either the Gods were trying to be funny or were high on drugs when coming up with these two." **

He feels his eye twitching as the blond Uzumaki inspects the damage done to the area; "This place is a mess."

Lucy snaps her fingers between both dragon slayers; "Jeez, who falls asleep while in the middle of fighting. They are completely out of it."

"Not surprised," Bishop mutters rubbing his eyes. "Atenea only ate breakfast and likely got hungry while fighting and then got sleepy."

"...Sounds like Natsu too," Grey drones beside Naruto sizing up the scale of the devastation; "Man this place looks like a bomb hit it."

Claire kneels down looking at the scorched ground and trees almost mournfully. She did not say anything as they could tell she was upset. The elf sadly sighed.

"This place truly means a lot to you doesn't it?" Erza asked with sympathy.

"What? Noooooo. It's just a place where some of my most dear childhood memories took place" The elf replied in a very forced cheery tone. "And I am not mad these two morons wrecked a part of it, not in the least!"

Grey deadpanned. "Geez, we get it you're mad. No need for the sarcasm"

The ice mage froze as the elf was not inches from his face; "This is me upset boy," she says quietly as she leans in further. "Trust me; you do not want to see me angry." Her green orbs boring holes into Gray's own as she turns and walks off.

"She's a lot more complex than she pretends not to be," Naruto comments patting Gray on the back as he sighs in relief.

'_She got as scary as Erza,_' the ice mage mentally shivers.

Two starlight paddles begin to take shape in Claire's hands as she walks and stands behind Natsu and Atenea; "WAKE UP BRATS!"

Least a dozen birds and wild animals scurry away as two echoing and loud shrieks erupt from the forest. Now holding their wounded backsides, both Slayers start shrinking under the angry gaze from the wood elf.

"So," she said in a sweet and sugary tone which made everyone shiver; "would you two youngsters like to tell me how you're going FIX THIS!" she points at the badly burnt up area as she screams the last part.

Natsu scratches his head, ruffling his hair as he gave the destroyed terrain a look. "Ehhh, can't really fix this"

"Me neither" The amazon added. "Only know how to break stuff. I leave the fixing to my friends"

The elf warned them. "I am this close to smacking you both so hard you'll fly to the moon"

"I know!" Natsu suddenly brightened up. "We could make it even!" He said, holding up a flaming fist.

"Wait, what?" Claire's confusion and sudden horror was mimicked by the others.

"We burn up the rest of the forest so it all looks the same!"

"No!" The elf shouted, waving her arms madly. "That is a terrible idea!"

The amazon smacked her lips. "Even I think that's kinda dumb"

Bishop dryly stated. "And usually her attitude is no better than his, and that's saying something"

The Scarlet sighed, placing a hand on the elf's shoulder. "Let it be, Claire" She tried to make her see reason. "These two can't fix it. We set up camp for the night," Erza orders while Claire slumps forward.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Leaving ground zero, the Fairies and Reavers set up for the night in a clearing well-guarded by dense trees. Naruto unsealed a scroll with food and started cooking, bless Mira for teaching him. Jiraiya was alright, but the man only cooked one way.

Sitting by the fire, both dragon slayers chatted in a lively tone with Lucy and Gray chiming in occasionally. Happy and Bishop were both chowing down on fish, while Erza ate quietly. Sitting up on a tree branch, Claire remained the quietest while watching the moon in the sky.

"Dad will be pissed when hearing his favorite hunting ground was partially leveled," she mutters quietly.

"That bad?" she jumps now seeing Naruto sitting beside her.

"Gods, don't sneak up on me like that" Claire replied, sounding annoyed.

"Ninja" Naruto shrugged. "Can't help it" He gives her a concerned look, perceiving how down she was feeling. "So, you spend a lot of time with your dad here huh?"

"Yep" She sighs. "This is a very important place for him"

"Look I know those two went over the top with their fight but I honestly don't think-"

"He met my mother here"

"...Ouch"

"Yep," Claire dryly retorts; "she was a huntress, a good one to for a human."

Naruto blinked a few times; "Wait you're..."

"Half-elf, but we retain our elven looks and longevity." She chuckles with a faint smile; "Father had never met anyone like her in all his life. He was so enraptured by mother. And his charm worked since they got married and had me..." Her smile faded; "She died when I was young. A sickness not even elven medicine could stop"

"You never told us you were half human" The jinchuuriki said tactfully.

"You tell your new friends every single detail of your life?" She shot back. "...Sorry, that was rude of me" Claire quickly apologizes with regret in her voice. "Look, the Eldrin don't mind about that stuff, we wood elves are like hippies with regal sense. But uh..." She brings her legs closer to her chest as she surrounds them with her arm. "Other elven races... don't really approve of it. It was tough growing up half-human sometimes. I don't really feel like talking about it right now"

Naruto nods in sympathy; oh he understood very well what she meant.

"Heh" She let out a humorless snort. "Don't let anyone tell you elves are wiser or emotionally healthier than other races"

Gently he puts one arm over her shoulder giving her a light half hug; "Well least I learned you can be serious."

A mischievous smirk forms on her lips as she eyes him; "Says the cute guy who pretends to be dumb when he's not," a giggle came from Claire seeing him look away blushing; "We are a lot alike in that respect, we both hate being serious. The world could us more laughs and less moping"

"Oh don't get me started on that" He grumbles. "Some people I fought were 'doom' this, 'hopelessness' that. 'Waaaaah the world is so unfair'" He mocked in a childish tone. "I mean, my gods, nobody knows how to laugh once in a while?"

"Ohoho" That amuses the elf enough to get her into better spirits; "Run into lots of edge lords huh?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. They were so edgy I think you could cut yourself with their sheer emoness"

That gets the wood elf laughing; "That's, hehe, not even a word..." She knew she liked this blondie for a reason.

"Hey," Looking down they both see Lucy holding Plue; "There is still some food left. You guys still hungry"

Naruto snorts as Claire blushes when her stomach makes known how hungry she is. "Yeah I think we are Lu-Chan."

"Well you better have some before Natsu and Atenea eat it all."

"Don't tell me they're having an eating contest now" Naruto deadpans.

"It hasn't gotten to the point yet, thankfully" She laughs sheepishly in relief. "Those two won't stop comparing notes about being raised by dragons. Hehe, each says their dad could beat the others"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Atenea laughs wildly; "Oh my dad was so pissed! He chased me all over the mountains," the slayer snickered.

"HA! Sounds like Igneel, he hated when I ate his food to," Natsu bit into some well cooked meat.

The amazon smiled fondly. "To test if I had gotten the Slayer immunity to my element, he threw me into a volcano"

"Ahhh" Natsu's face showing nostalgia and melancholy at the memory of his own father. "Yeah, Igneel breathed fire on me to test mine"

The others gathered around the campfire just sweatdrop. "They're talking so fondly about things like that..." The ice mage muttered in disbelief. Being set on fire or thrown into a volcano did not qualify as 'happy childhood memories' on his book.

"He was so proud" The Lava Slayer lay back on the ground with her arms behind her arms behind her back; she smiles as she stared at the twinkling stars. "I remember when he would take me on his back and fly, seeing the world from up there..."

"The wind in your face, the rush" The pinkette's tone was one they hadn't quite heard before from him. Natsu was always so excitable, even in his calmest moments, but reminiscing about his lost father with someone who understood seemed to put him... at peace.

Atenea lifts one arm as if trying to grasp the night sky. "No matter how much I try my arms can't touch the sky, not like they could when on dad's back. Regardless of how tall the mountain I climb, how great is the height I jump from-"

"-It's just not the same"

"We have to find them," the blond amazon says with determination. "I'll look for the surly old coot even if I fight in the pits of hell."

Lucy sweatdrops; "that's a bit extreme isn't it?" Bishop snorts at that.

"Trust me she can get more colorful than that."

Claire takes a bit out of her meal as Natsu looks at his fellow slayer; "Say if you find your dad first can you ask him about Igneel?"

Atenea gave a thumbs up; "You got it hun. When his jaw heals after I punch him of course."

"Hehehe, I'm gonna take a swing at Igneel too" Natsu smirks. "Wanna show him how strong I got!"

The muscular amazon sat up and grinned at him, "Let's show our folks we can beat their asses any day" They bumped fists as to cement their promise.

Bishop merely smiled at how well his old friend was getting with this Slayer. Atenea had great friends back at their guild, though this Natsu fellow seems to be someone she relates to quite well, and for that he was thankful. The tabby cat could see the two becoming close friends in the future.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

By the sun's place in the sky above, it was well into the afternoon as the Fairy crew along with Atenea and Bishop had been searching the forest looking the dark guild ever since morning. Claire on her part was much happier thanks in part to Erza and her equip magic.

As morning has dawned the group came back to the area where the two dragon slayers had fought so wildly. During the night the redhead had come up with an idea to repair the damage done to that area. Dawning two armors not even Naruto hadn't really seen before, his longtime friend had first made sand erupt from the epicenter of the damage. This extended out till appearing like a massive sand box.

Gaara would have been proud of that feat.

Next, she equipped another armor and Erza had called forth water from deep underground literally creating a miniature beach. By the time she was complete, Claire had given Erza a non-perverted hug silently thanking her.

After leaving the area, she had explained how her parents met here and her being a half-elf. Natsu bluntly asked why she looked more elf than human, which earned a hard smack/punch from Naruto and Erza.

Back to the present, Both Lava and Fire dragon slayer sniffed the ground and air while Bishop and Happy flew around the others. "Maybe with two sharp noses they can find these guys," Naruto reasons while walking beside Erza, who for whatever random reason was back in her bikini outfit.

In the morning she had decided to enjoy the mini-beach she had created and taken to rest for a while. So Erza had kindly asked Naruto to rub some lotion on her (because OF COURSE she had that among the innumerable things she kept in her traveling gear). The blonde just couldn't say no to her, but he had forced himself to have pure thoughts while applying it.

The fox wasn't of any help however.

"**You enjoyed it"**

_'Shut up'_

"**Ain't any reason to have just one mate?"**

_'Not listening'_

**"You do know the human clans back home like Uzu, occasionally had a second spouse."**

_'I thought you hated humans.'_

**"**_**Oh~ I do**_**,"** by the gods that was just so wrong in how cheerfully the furball said that; **"But that doesn't mean I'm an idiot in not knowing about their cultures."**

The young Sennin mentally grumbles as Atenea leaps onto a large branch smelling the air; "I think I found something," she calls out to the others on the ground.

Natsu, also picking on the scent, motioned them to come closer. They sneaked quietly behind some bushes they saw a group of people camping in tents, there was plenty of alchemical equipment laying around, concoctions being made by people wearing dark cloaks. Upon their backs was their symbol, alchemy bottle dripping its contents over a cauldron.

"That symbol" Erza whispers loud enough for the others to hear her. "Fel Cauldron, the dark guild of alchemists"

"Why are they out in the open?" It struck Naruto as something beyond odd. "I thought they were hiding somewhere around here"

"Let's listen for a moment. You two" The Scarlet directed a commanding glare at the Slayers. "Stay. Put"

"You're no fun..." Natsu groaned, but he wasn't gonna argue with Erza when she got like that.

Turning their ears to the camp, they listen in closely to find out more information about their group.

At the center of the camp, a dark haired man was talking with various other members of his guild. "What do our familiars report?"

"The entrance to the Guild is locked on tighter than a nun's chastity belt" A small woman with short green hair stated with her colorful analogy. "The biomass has spread, and it's sealed the entrance shut. We fear the thing will wake up if we disturb it"

"And we don't want that" The dark haired man agrees. "We'll have to come up with something to take it out"

"Oh like what?" Another man dryly replies. "Make another huge monster thing to help us? Because that CLEARLY worked so great for us before..."

"Alchemy is a magical science with trial and error," the dark haired man said calmly.

The green haired woman snorts; "Especially when it comes from some book we only recently found and did not wait to see just how dangerous it was."

Claire narrows her eyes on hearing that one as Gray whispers; "So they botched something and stuck out in the open."

"What book are they talking about?" Lucy asks besides Natsu.

"How should I know?" The Fire dragon Slayer shrugs.

"I don't know Marus" Another man, one who looked to be around a decade older, addressed their leader. "Maybe we should call for help"

"Call for help?" The one now known as Marus replies incredulously; "To who? In case you have forgotten, we are dark mages," He exclaims, spreading his arms wide. "We can't ask anyone for help without getting thrown into jail!"

"Look, I don't wanna go to jail either" The green haired woman said. "But ever since we found that book, everything went downhill"

"You too, Eri," Marus rolled his eyes.

"All I am saying is that we should have been more careful" She replies. "Remember how Thomas spent nights reading that thing? Next thing we knew he was going crazy, hearing things and speaking in a strange language. Oh, and that was before he turned into a PILE OF TENTACLES!"

"Tentacles," Claire whispers in an odd voice. Oh she had a bad feeling about this...

Naruto gives Erza a look; "Maybe we should get them to surrender and answer some questions. There's clearly something else going on"

"Agreed"

Marus angrily addresses his council. "Look, we're going to figure this out on our own! Even if council forces or guilds come for us, we will most definitely not, not now nor never-"

The Fairies plus two Reavers stepped out of the bushes; "Sup?" The amazon grins.

"We surrender!" Marus was the first to scream and get on his knees, throwing his wrists at them as if waiting to be cuffed.

Eri gave her leader a dry look. "...Well, so much for that"

"Wow," Gray mutters; "no balls at all…"

Ignoring the ice mage, Claire walks in front of Eri; "Honey could you describe this book for me please?" Oh she was praying to all the gods that were listening this was not one of so'.

The elderly man spoke before his younger comrade could; "A large black tome. We found it in an old ruined temple. It was very deep underground. Thomas, rest his soul knew what it was but he never told us."

"Was there any markings or engraving?"

"A really weird tentacle creature," Eri said with disgust; "the thing creeped me out."

Oh for gods' sake... "Annnnd you found one of old Herma-Mora's books. Fan-fucking-tastic..."

"This is something we're not gonna like isn't it," Naruto drawls pessimistically.

"Not in the slightest" The elf sighs, rubbing her eyes warily. "Herma-Mora is an ancient entity outside time and space, a god. He collects all knowledge of what it was, is, and will be. He likes to sometimes throw his books into the mortal worlds, those things have eldritch knowledge you could only dream of. Bad news is, if you're not careful it will drive you insane. Not to mention chances are the knowledge it holds can be pretty destructive for everyone around it..."

The buxom celestial mage pales; "I-I thought those were pure myth. I read about Herma-Mora but I never-" Lucy looks sharply to their elven friend; "How much do you know?"

"Well, being when I was in a rebellious phase when younger. I found one of those books and read it," Claire said in an annoyed tone. The others. even those in Fel Cauldron paled; "Yes I was an idiot."

Collecting herself after shaking her head Eri looks to the redhead; "You're Titania right," Erza gave to woman a nod; "As much as I hate the thought of prison. I like being alive better. Can your group kill the thing we summoned?"

"Do you swear to surrender to proper authorities?" The knight asks in a serious tone.

Marus desperately dragged his himself before them. "I'll personally lick your boots if that's what it takes, but please save me!" He could feel the glares of his subordinates behind his back. "A-And my friends too, hehe, can't forget about them"

"You suck!" Someone shouts in the background.

"You're one of the saddest criminals I've met" Naruto muttered without a shred of sympathy.

The lead alchemist sobbed. "All I did was illegal experimentation..."

Erza ignored his last statement, and nodded; "Very good, where is this creature?"

"At our base," Eri speaks quietly, "It's not far from here, just go north."

"Cool!" Atenea smacks her fist into her palm. "I'm gonna take it out by myself, thanks!" She immediately turns and run off. Bishop sighed and runs after her.

"Wait what?" Natsu sputters and quickly followed them with Happy. "Nuh-uh, I'm gonna beat the monster's ass!"

Gray sighs. "And here I thought we had solved the issue..."

"We should probably go after them" Lucy sweatdropped.

"Don't worry" Naruto assured her. "Happy still has my kunai on his backpack" They could find them in jiffy.

Natsu grinned when Happy lifted him off from the ground. "See ya!" He laughed madly as they soared past the two.

Atenea instead merely grins and looked at her partner, this time the tabby cat shared her grin. Suddenly his entire body was enveloped in a plume of smoke; it grew large enough that Atenea was caught in it. A roar filled the air, and from the smoke jumps out a great tiger with Atenea riding on top of it at great speed.

"...What?" Gray blinked.

"The hell?!" Natsu and Happy's eyes widened like plates.

"I know transformation magic!" The great tiger spoke with Bishop's voice. "What, you never tried learning any before?"

"Later!" Atenea laughs as Bishop sped up immensely, quickly passing the flying Slayer and cat.

Claire sighs as she follows the slayers; "I need to get that book anyways and have it properly sealed."

Equipping into her Hearts Cruz armor, Erza runs off with Naruto following, but not before creating several clones to watch Fel Cauldron. Lucy and Gray soon give chase.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Okay," Natsu scratches his head with Atenea doing the same; "That looks nasty."

Finding what looked like a cave both Slayers arrived to find the way in was blocked by a bulbous black mass with tentacles which move about aimlessly.

"Kinda reminds me of some hentai novels I've read before," The amazon mutters; "Ain't eager to see where this goes now…" Bishop, still in tiger form, just sighs.

The rest of the group soon catches up to them. Gray pants; "You guys shouldn't rush a-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" He shouts upon seeing the large... stuff with the wriggling tentacles.

"Oh gods" Lucy turns several shades greener.

"**Ugh" **The fox makes a disgusted sound inside Naruto's head. **"I'll take the snake freak any day before that stuff..."**

"Anyone else feels like throwing up..," Naruto asks, looking sick.

Claire's nose wrinkles in disgust; "Yep. That's some bad demonic alchemy gone wrong there"

Erza, showing a remarkable composure, merely asked. "What can we expect?"

"Well, they said they cooked up a big monster that turned against them. And seeing this is Herma-Mora's knowledge at work it might be one of his demons, maybe a Seeker or a Lurker" She takes a good look at the murky black biomass. "But to have caused a spread of chaotic substance like that... must be a really big one"

"How do we get pass that?" the lava dragon slayer asks.

Claire eyes over to Natsu; "Just use your fire breath. However, and pay attention to this, no one touch that book," the elf speaks in a very authoritative tone; "Trust me, it'll show you things you really don't want to see. I tried once before, and now I wish I hadn't"

No one got what she meant but they all nod in compliance; "What will you do with it?" Naruto asked.

"Seal it and ship it back home with the others we found while roaming around Earthland," Safer with her people locking it up then some moron finding one.

"**Fire Dragon's Roar!**"

The moment the torrent of flames hit, the tentacles moved even more widely, almost as if they were in pain. The murky black substance was burnt away, feeling apart like disgusting scamps from an old wound. The flames went deeper inside the cave, burning away all in its pace.

Then a loud gurgling roar was heard, something that could only be described as demonic.

"Oh joy;" The elf deadpans; "Lurker"

"Which is?" Naruto warily asked.

"Big demonic fish can span tentacles. Has a face even a mother wouldn't love"

Lucy shivers, rubbing her arms; "let's just get this over with and go home."

"Lurkers are relentless, so be careful and watch each other," Claire says before heading into the cave and the others follow.

Entering they follow they descending path as they hear the demonic creature further inside. Luckily they did not have to go far as they found themselves in a massive open area with several bodies lying on the rocky cave floor. But what they saw at the area's center even made Erza shiver.

Humanoid, but nearly giant in size, it scaly fish-like skin, dark purple in color. A scream echoes the entire cave till Lucy realized it came from her lips as she covers her mouth.

The demonic fish-like entity turned its head at their direction, hearing the blonde's scream. It maw snaps open as needle sharp teeth bared themselves in a threatening gesture. Its dark beady eyes looked at them with primal hunger.

It let out another gurgling roar and charged at them without hesitation.

"Here it comes;" Claire shouts, conjuring her starlight bow; "Keep your distance and be careful, its limbs are highly toxic!"

"Spread out;" Naruto orders, and so they moved around the cave, circling the beast. The Lurker's gaze snapped from one place to the other, unsure of whom to go after first.

Lucy moves close to the wall at the end of the cave. She held out her gold key, "**Open, the gate of**-!" A tentacle from the black murky substance on the wall latched on her wrist, tightening its grip her key fell to the ground while the tentacle pulled her closer to the wall. "Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods" She cried in disgust as more tentacles held her prisoner. "Gross, gross, gross, gross!"

Natsu breathed fire upon the creature as Naruto combined his attack with a wind jutsu. Flames enveloped the monster; the disgusting smell of flesh burning filled their nostrils.

"Think that's a fish I don't want to try..." Happy muttered from the sidelines.

The Lurker roared in agony before throwing its head back letting out an impressive amount of... something foul smelling and disgusting they didn't want to ponder on from its mouth, bathing its entire being with a slimy liquid, quickly putting out the flames and coating its body with a flame resistance substance.

Everyone's face reflected their disgust; "Oh that is just... so gross" The blonde sage exclaimed.

The Lurker smashed its foot and spawned a writhing mass of tentacles, secreting the same murky black substance that covered the cave from its limbs and unto the floor. Forming a quickly spreading pool which formed even more tentacles.

"Shit;" Claire cursed. "That stuff is poisonous!"

Gray quickly forms a shield of ice to hold back the tide, yet the tentacles struck with ferocity forming cracks on the ice. Erza had equips herself with two swords, quickly slashing free Lucy who scrambles on the ground looking for her key while the knight fights off the black limbs.

"Where is it? Oh where is it?!" She cried out in desperation.

"We don't have time, summon a spirit!"

"But the one that could help right now is Aquarius but she-!"

Erza grit her teeth in strain as a tentacle lashed out like a whip, making her skid back over the ground. "Lucy!"

"Oh alright!" The Celestial mage pulled out her strongest spirit's key. "**Open the Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!**"

A small plume of smoke appeared and so manifested the mermaid spirit. "Okay, what the hell do you want no-" She stopped upon seeing the creature in the cave. "Is that a Lurker? What in the Spirit King's name did you get into girl?!"

"Black book!" Claire yells firing two starlight arrows.

Aquarius says nothing for a moment before getting serious; "Just get behind me Lucy." grabbing her pitcher she sends a powerful torrent of water against the creature.

The great Lurker merely stomps the ground, creating a tidal wave of black substance which crashes against the pure waves.

Naruto looks at the ground which was being filled more and more by that horrible stuff, he wasn't going to risk it and step over the black liquid from where all those tentacles were coming from. So he summoned two clones and pulled out the Raijin no Ken.

The clones grab him by the arms and throw him with all his strength, the great beast turns to late and Naruto slashes off its left arm. It screeches in pain as black ichor, which he assumes was its blood, leaked in torrents. He lands safely on the other side, next to the Lava Slayer who had just incinerates a pair of tentacles.

"Got him" He said in triumph... his smirk was soon obliterated when black tentacles sprouted from the severed limb and the stump of its arm, joining the severed limb together once more. "Oh come on!"

Atenea backs a way as more and more of the black liquid poured forth from the monster. "We gotta get rid of this stuff" She grunts. "I think I can take care of that but you guys should find some cover"

"You got it;" Naruto quickly made his way to where Lucy and Erza are, "Gray, we need you here!" The Ice Mage nodded and run towards them, carefully avoiding the tentacles and the black liquid.

"Yo Natsu;" The amazon shouted. "Gonna need your help here!"

The pinkette smashed his fists together, creating bursts of flames; "You got it!"

Naruto and Gray regrouped with their comrades; "Make a shield!"

"On it;" With a motion of his hands, the mage created a thick barrier of ice which protected their corner.

The sage turned to the spirit. "Make a water layer in front of the ice!"

"Tch, even this brat is now telling me what to do..." Even so she complied, creating flowing secondary barrier in front of the ice and kept it going.

Naruto slammed his hands and reinforced the ice with seals, hoping this would be enough to withstand the coming blast in such an enclosed space.

The amazon clenched her fists and flexed her arms, growling as magma gathered in them. She raised her arms high. "**Lave Slayer Art**;" She chanted; "**Fissure**;" And slams her firsts down upon the ground.

The earth trembles and cracks up, creating fissures where lava spills forth, the black liquid was consumed upon with the molten rock, solidifying as more and more lava spilled forth. The Lurker roars in pain as its feet were being burnt, it tried to stomp over the ground again, but a fire blast straight to the face threw it of balance, making it stagger back. Natsu then kept breathing a constant stream of fire at it. The monster shrieked and flailed the bile that shrouded its body was finally being consumed by the combined heat of the flames and lava, exposing its flesh to a more vulnerable state against the fiery elements.

The lava came close to the others, but their defense held it at bay.

The moment they thought the battle was won, the beast gave out a horrific shriek as its body began... mutating, it suddenly absorbed all the remaining black liquid, becoming a bulbous mass of disgustingly twisted flesh. It kept on expanding until it touched the roof of the cave, tentacles, pincers and other horrible appendages bursted from under its skin.

"...Just when I thought this couldn't get any more gross" Naruto muttered stupefied, the others could only watch with a stunned gaze at the deformed monstrosity that just kept expanding.

At this rate, it would fill up the entire cave and crush them.

Natsu grunted, they needed to do something and fast, before this thing exploded-

A lightbulb appeared on his head.

"Hey Atenea!" He shouts over at the other Dragon Slayer, he could no longer see her due to the mass of flesh blocking his view. "Remember when blew up that rock you threw?" He exclaims with an excited smile.

He could just feel the fellow Slayer grinning. "I love the way you think!"

"Wait..." Lucy said in distraught. "They're not going to..."

Oh they were, weren't they?

Natsu quickly slams his hands a side of the bulbous abomination, not to push it back, but to channel his fire through the monster, burning up its insides. Atenea quickly did the same, channeling all the fury of a raging volcano. The heat kept on building from both sides, making its way to the center as it destroyed organs, bones and twisted flesh on its path.

The giant mass of flesh began shining red.

"Cover your eyes kiddies;" Aquarius dryly advised. "You won't like to see this.

The monster explodes in a shower of gore with such intensity it brought down the floor on them. The two Reavers and the Fairies shout as they fell further down. They landed on a dimly lit lower chamber filled with old ruins of some kind. After a painful landing, Naruto groaned as he stood up, he shivered as he felt something wet, soft and foul smelling slide down from his shoulder.

"I'm covered in demon guts aren't I..?"

Erza replied in a very, very sick voice. "You're not the only one..."

The redheaded knight was covered; head to toe in demon innards and black blood. Same could be said for Lucy, a dry looking Claire, except Aquarius who brought a water shield over herself.

"And I thought they smelled bad on the outside," the wood elf got to her feet. Now surveying their new surroundings that they fell down into.

The buxom celestial mage glared over at her summoning; "You could have shielded all of us you know."

"Do you know how much magic I had to use just fighting that monster," Aquarius scoffs; "I'm out of here, going to see my boyfriend. Need some cuddling after this," She vanishes.

"Does she have to rub it in?" Lucy growls while being helped up by Gray, who was also covered in demon guts.

Naruto helps up a sick looking Erza as he uses wind chakra to clean himself and her off; "Definitely a long shower when getting back." The blond Uzumaki notices how pale the Celestial mage looks; "Gonna puke?" She nods, quickly covering her mouth. Lucy quickly runs over to an old vase and emptied the contents of her stomach. "And she's puking…"

Both Natsu and Atenea recovering using their respective element to clean themselves off, by quickly burning away and incinerating any flesh and blood clinging to them. Afterwards they walked over to Claire; "Where are we?" the amazon speaks up.

"Is it a place where we can clean up?" Bishop grumbles as both he and Happy look disgusted, just as dirty as the others

The elf's her green orbs gaze about the room, they soon stop seeing a pedestal; "Where that thing came from?"

They felt... something. Almost like the sound of a beating heart. A soft drumming sound in their ears accompanied by the soft whisper of a wind current.

At least... they hoped it was the wind.

Lying atop the pedestal was a book bound in black leather, though they doubted it was truly the material it is. There was a strange engraving on the cover, a sort of symbol made up of tentacles.

Magic radiates from that thing like a heat radiates from burning coal. It was... sick, twisted. An invisible miasma of poison, of forbidden eldritch knowledge.

"Callisto be praised..." The amazon mutters, sounding far more sophisticatedly than before. Her red eyes were wide as she looks at the book. "The magic coming from that thing is..."

"**Otherworldly;"** The fox finished for her inside Naruto's head. The blonde had to stop at the tone of the Bijuu's voice; he had never heard the Kyuubi so... wary of something before.

With soft steps, Claire approaches the book, the others swore the heart beat they hear is beating louder now. Stopping at the pedestal the elf lifts her hands and lets her fingers glide over the cover, casting a barrier of blue runes around it; "I pray to the Gods this is the last one I ever see in my life."

Giving Lucy a cloth to clean her mouth, Naruto walks over beside his elven friend; "You said you found others... Doesn't that sound-"

"A bit too convenient?" Claire finishes; "Oh it is, and Herma-Mora can keep trying to temp me all he wants. I will never read one of these books ever again." Waving her hand, she reinforced the binding magic she casted, one could never be too careful with these things. She picks up the book before turning to everyone; "Mission complete."

"I thought the gods were all asleep like you said" Lucy said in confusion.

"The primal gods of this world, yes" She explains. "The ones that inhabit other realms merely can't travel here easily... and Herma-Mora most definitely is not from this world"

Naruto eyes the book, now bound with blue arcane sigils from the elf's magic, warily. "What does those things have?"

"Could be anything" Claire replies. "How to increase your power, drain power from others, extended your lifespan, travel through time and space... But it's never worth it"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Leaving the cave and returning to the clones guarding Fel Cauldron who dispel when seeing everyone back. They take the dark guild through the forest and back to the trains. But not before Lucy, Happy, Bishop, Claire, and Gray got cleaned off via Naruto's wind chakra, with a combination of Erza washing them off with a water weapon of her personal storage. Heading through the foliage, the young sage eyes Claire who holds the sealed book in her hands.

**"Don't even think about it,"** the Kyuubi warns; **"you saw what happened to these idiots."**

_'Trust me I'm not, but just wondering what happened to Claire when she read one.'_

**"That fact she is still sane is a testament to the strength of her mental will,"** the old fox yawns before going silent.

"There you are Atenea!" The Fairies stop upon seeing a new group of people standing near the captured alchemists.

"Hey!" The amazon broke out into a large smile as she saw a group of three people. She run towards them as she waves. "So good to see you guys!"

Then she was struck by lightning. She twists comically and fell to the ground as a charred body; she twitched as arcs of electricity run through her singed hair.

The Fairies sweatdropped.

"Hmph" A young woman about Levy's height grunts in annoyance, her hair was a dark red done in a bob cut with a bang tucked behind an ear. She wore a dark vest with and a pair of blue short shorts. She had her arms crossed and her eyes closed, her face showing pure disapproval and annoyance. The flickering currents of lightning around her body coupled with her mannerism reminded them of Laxus a bit. "Idiot, running out by yourself on a job like this"

Another woman sighed, her figure was busty and curvy like Erza, and she was about her height too. She donned a form fitting leather armor with various straps and belts, along with a short cape over her shoulder. On her back she carried a masterfully crafted longbow with a quiver filled with arrows. Her hair was long and wavy; a rich blonde color with a bang covering one eye, the visible eye was a deep blue color. "Always getting into trouble"

"You're gonna give Master Solaris a heart attack one of these days" The final member of their group said. A young man with spiky black hair combed back, his eyes were a deep brown, and his facial features was neither delicate nor too rugged, in short he was a handsome one, the king of guy who could be the singer of a boys band. He wore a dark blue shirt underneath an asymmetrical armor. Large silver plates over his left arm but left his right arm bare, showing the tribalistic sun symbol of the Sun Reavers on his forearm. Both his hands had fingerless gloves. His baggy pants were tucked into bandages under silver metal plates protecting his shins. On his shoulders he had a pair of metallic shoulder pads lined with fur around his neck.

"T-T-These are my friends..." The electrified Lava Slayer rasps to the Fairies.

Bishop made a throaty noise; "The redhead is Eliza, the blond archer is Kara. Lastly, the pretty boy is named Jake."

Said pretty boy feels his eye twitch; "Weren't you supposed to 'watch' her Bishop?"

"I have been, I watched as she ran away before I could stop her." The tabby jabs a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the Fairy crew. "And met these interesting weirdos along the way,"

**"Brilliant analogy,"** the Kyuubi snorts making Naruto mentally roll his eyes.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the blond Sennin gestures to himself; "This is-"

"Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster," Eliza interrupts and speaking dryly; "Heard of you four." She eyes Claire and Lucy; "no idea who you two are."

The buxom blond slumps while the elf grins; "And I can live with that."

Scratching the back of his head, Jake sheepishly says. "We apologize for whatever this musclebound idiot put you through"

"Hey..."

Naruto waves him off. "Nah, don't worry about. We have a village idiot of our own"

"Yep" Natsu agrees as he crossed his arms. "Gray can be a pain"

"HE'S TALKING ABOUT YOU, IDIOT!" The ice mage snaps a vein throbbing on his forehead.

However before both Natsu and Gray could start arguing, both were smacked in the head by Erza and sent to the ground; "Behave."

"Yes ma'am..."

Grabbing Atenea's ankle Eliza began dragging the amazon away; "Thanks for keeping an eye on this idiot," she dryly mutters walking away.

Both Kara and Jake sigh; "Eliza's not one for small talk," the blond archer speaks, smiling thankfully at the Fairy crew. "Thanks for looking after our friend, she can be a handful sometimes"

Jake eyes the dark mages with their hands bound; "Well, looks like you people took care of the job. The rewards should be yours."

"We're good," Naruto shakes the man's hands; "Atenea helped us, so it's fair you share the reward too"

Kara sheepishly chuckles. "Well, we could use it to pay for the damages she causes"

That made Lucy spoke up; "Feel I should warn you people" She dryly points at Natsu. "THIS one" She drones. "Is a male version of THAT one" The Celestial Mage then points at the Lava Slayer who was currently being dragged away?

The look on Jake's face was pretty much the same horrified expression they made when they had realized Atenea was so similar to Natsu in terms of personality. Kara looked like she was about to faint.

"Oh gods no..." He whispers with dread.

"...I wish I could unhear that" The archer mournfully states before leaving, walking with a dark cloud over her head.

The Fairies and Reavers made their goodbyes, the former going to leave the alchemists over a nearby posts of Rune Knights, while the former made their way out of the forest towards the train station.

"Hopefully Atenea doesn't blow it up…" Gray muttered, with someone like Natsu with the Reavers, destruction was a certainty.

"I just hope the guild wasn't destroyed while we were gone," Lucy sighs.

"Cheer up guys" Naruto tries to remain positive. "We kicked ass and met interesting people, this was a good day. 'Sides, Natsu and Gray were with us all this time, so the guild will be fine"


End file.
